New smart Collar claims to translate your pet's language

Powered by AI, this collar promises to translate what dogs and cats are trying to say with 95% accuracy. It has already received over 10,000 pre-orders, yet there is no scientific evidence to back it up.

Truly understanding what a dog is thinking when it barks or what a cat is trying to express through a meow is a dream shared by millions of pet owners. A Chinese startup claims to have made this dream a reality thanks to a device powered by artificial intelligence. According to the company, the device is capable of translating animal language with nearly 95% accuracy. The project is led by Meng Xiaoyi, a young tech company based in Hangzhou, which is generating excitement, both in the market and investors, even before its official launch.

How does this AI-based collar work?

The translator takes the form of a smart collar that is placed around the animal’s neck. Using sensors and analytical algorithms, the device collects information on the animal’s vocalizations, movements, behaviors, and even its presumed emotions.

According to the company, the system uses the Qwen language model, developed by Alibaba Cloud. This model was trained using a large amount of data on the vocal patterns and anatomical and behavioral characteristics of dogs and cats. The goal is to convert these signals into messages understandable by humans, thereby providing a kind of translation into natural language.

Over 10,000 pre-orders in just a few weeks

Public interest was immediate. Since pre-orders opened in early May, more than 10,000 pre-orders have reportedly already been placed. The retail price is set at 799 yuan, or about $118 or just over €100, a sum that many pet owners seem willing to spend to better understand their pets. Investors have also placed their trust in the project: the startup has secured approximately $1 million in initial funding to support the technology’s development.

Is this 95% accuracy rate really credible?

It's precisely this claimed accuracy rate that raises the most concerns. The company claims the device achieves an accuracy of nearly 95%, but so far, no scientific studies, independent tests, or methodologies have been published to verify this claim.

For this reason, many experts and users are urging caution. While research on AI-assisted animal communication is a very real and rapidly evolving field, translating complex behaviors and emotions into clear sentences remains an extremely difficult scientific challenge.

Whether it’s true innovation or a marketing gimmick, only time will tell

The idea of conversing with one’s pet continues to fascinate millions of people, illustrating the rapid rise of the pet tech sector (technologies dedicated to animals). Yet, to date, Meng Xiaoyi ’s device resembles a marketing promise more than a scientific certainty. If the announced results were to be confirmed, we would be facing a historic turning point in our relationship with animals. Until then, the smart collar remains one of the most intriguing and controversial innovations of the moment.

Source: PettiChat – Pet Translator – pettichat