THE DEVICE ROLLS AROUND, LETTING YOUR DOG CHASE IT

Santiago Gutierrez walked away from the corporate world to start his own intelligent pet products company two years ago.

The CEO and founder of PulsePet and his team have just finished the final prototype of the GoBone, an autonomous dog toy that can keep a pet entertained for hours while the owner’s away.

“We see a need for people to take care of their pets when they’re not home,” Gutierrez said. “People are so busy these days. People might feel guilty for leaving their pet for eight hours a day.”

Santiago Gutierrez, CEO and founder of PulsePet

The device rolls around, letting your dog chase it. Owners can put treats in the wheels on each end, creating more stimulation for the dog. The batteries last for eight hours and can be charged through a micro USB connection.

CONNECTABLE VIA BLUETOOTH

“It detects when your dog is playing with it and at that point it goes to sleep,” Gutierrez said. “Your dog can chew on it and the wheels aren’t rolling around its mouth. When your dog stops playing with it, it wakes up, and encourages your dog to play with it some more. Imagine that happening on a loop throughout the day.”

Gutierrez and his team also developed an app that can connect to the GoBone via Bluetooth, allowing dog owners to remote control the GoBone when they are present. It has a range of about 10 meters.

“We want it to be an interactive product that you can get involved in and can improve the bond with your dog,” Gutierrez said.

The app can shoot video of the dog playing and users can share it right from the app while still controlling the GoBone. They also gamified it, giving users achievements and games to unlock different modes.

“It’s about keeping you coming back and finding new ways to interact with your dog,” Gutierrez said.

On May 31, his kickstarter campaign begins so he can meet his goal of getting the GoBone to production by the end of the year. The product will sell on Amazon.com and the mygobone.com website. Contributors to the kickstarter will get an $80 discount and the biggest contributors will get an early prototype and a special one-on-one visit with Gutierrez to talk about the device and help set it up.

“Creating a hardware product costs hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to buy the tooling and components,” he said.

For information on the kickstarter campaign, visit mygobone.com.

BEGAN WORK ON GOBONE IN DALLAS APARTMENT

The Miami native toiled away in a Dallas apartment, using scratch-built components here, repurposing existing electronics there, and designing other parts on a 3D printer.

The proof of concept was developed in 2014. Then, the PulsePet team perfected the exterior design. And just this month, they completed the final prototype with a more rugged exterior that will stand up to repeated dog chewing.

The GoBone has been tested on about 100 dogs for more than 1,000 hours.

Customers who buy a GoBone also have the option of buying a second one and donating it to the animals shelter of their choice. His goal is to get one in every shelter in the area.

“It’s something that brings out their true personality, I think that’s really important both for adoptability in shelters and at home for general well-being,” Gutierrez said.

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