If someone asked me what's something
that everyone can agree on?
I would say that dogs are awesome, don't you think?
(upbeat electronic music)
Here, I have solid proof of the love
that humanity as a whole has for dogs.
This is Furbo, the dog-sitting camera.
It was designed to be a communication tool
for you and your dog while you're away.
It also works as a surveillance system
to find out how mischievous your dog gets in your absence.
That last one is sort of an extra benefit that I see in it.
So, now, let's see how the dog-sitting camera performs.
It's about nine inches, or 22 centimeters tall.
The body looks really smooth, has a glossy finish,
and up the top it has a neat looking bamboo cover.
The top can be removed
so you can refill the Furbo with treats.
Yes, you can give your dog treats with this device,
and, no, I don't know how dogs would perceive it
but to me it looks pretty nice.
Furbo probably fits anywhere in your house,
but you have to keep in mind
that it needs to plugged in at all times,
and it needs a strong wifi connection to function.
Obviously, it would be ideal to place it low enough
for the camera to see your dog properly.
And you might also want to consider
a partially enclosed location
so that your pet can't easily knock it over.
At the bottom, Furbo has an opening, here,
that takes you to the launching device for troubleshooting,
in case a treat gets stuck then you can clear it out
through here and then you're good to go.
The device is pretty light, which could be good or bad.
You won't strain yourself moving it but, at the same time,
it'll be fairly easy for your pet to knock it over.
Fortunately, the device and the bamboo top
are pretty sturdy.
They can easily survive some playful roughhousing
with your pet.
One thing to keep in mind is that you won't be able
to fit treats that are half an inch or bigger.
They should be around 0.4 inches, or about one centimeter.
It means you have to stock up on small treats
if you don't want to manually break them
into smaller pieces.
There's a lot you can do with Furbo
beyond spying on your pet.
Once you download the app you'll see
that you have a handful of options.
The basics let you watch your pupper in real time
and talk to it through your phone, and,
as I mentioned before, you get to throw some yummy snacks.
Some other features only come with the premium option,
and those include taking pet selfies,
barking or movement alerts,
and the possibility of saving footage of your dog.
That last one sounds like an easy way
to turn your dog into a viral sensation.
Setting up Furbo is pretty easy.
After you plug it in the light will turn green
and let you know it's ready.
Then it'll connect to the wifi,
and after that it'll be good to go.
Then, you download your companion app.
After you load it up it's just a matter of
following simple instructions.
Actually, the most difficult part
about using Furbo for the first time
has to do more with dogs than with the device itself.
It might take a while for your doggos to get used to it.
But the company thought about that
and they included a training video within the app.
In the video they show you how to train your dog
to get acquainted with Furbo.
There are a few things that could be done
to improve a Furbo's functionality.
One is making the device less dependent on the app.
You can't log in to your account
if you don't go through the app,
and you won't be able to turn it on and off.
You can adjust the camera to 360, 720
or 1080p video resolution.
In the 1080 version, the image looks crisp
and you can even zoom in.
However, it could really use a panning feature,
because, as I said before, your pet could knock it over
and once Furbo is down, the camera could end up
pointing at the floor and then it becomes useless
because you can't make it look in any other direction
other than straight on.
So, based on what the camera sees,
the Furbo will send you different notifications.
When your dog barks it sends you a barking alert,
and when it detects your dog, or another person,
it will send you a movement alert,
which might make it useful as a security camera as well.
Speaking of security, Furbo protects your data
with private key encryption and, every day at midnight,
it'll automatically delete the footage
it got during the day.
The speakers on the Furbo are quite decent.
Your pet should be able to recognize your voice clearly.
Of course, the overall functionality of Furbo can vary
depending on the number of pets you have
and their individual treats.
For example, if you have two dogs
and one of them is very dominant,
there's not much that Furbo can do to make sure
that one dog doesn't get all the treats.
(upbeat electronic music)
You can get the opportunity to check on your dog
even though you're away, which will also reduce your anxiety
about your pets wellbeing.
It's also very likely that your pet will not feel as lonely
with the Furbo at home.
That will probably end up saving you money
because a dog that is not as lonely
will spend less time chewing on your shoes
or figuring out what's inside your pillows.
The basic features of live watch and treat tossing
are already worth it.
Extra features, like dog selfies and the alerts
that come with the premium are also valuable.
All in all, I think your pet
will definitely appreciate Furbo,
especially if it already spends most of the day by itself.
(upbeat electronic music)
So that was it for Furbo, the pet-sitting camera.
I'm Alix Aspe and I'll see you soon.