Dogs are amazing. But as many pet parents will tell you, they can be remarkably good at hiding when something is wrong. My Labrador-Great Dane mix, for example, contracted tick fever several times over his 14 long years, and it was always at least a couple of weeks before I suspected something was off. It nearly gave me anxiety ulcers a few times.
Hoomanely, a new startup out of Palo Alto, thinks it can help people like me spot health problems in their dogs (beyond those two struggling brain cells) much sooner with an AI platform that gathers data using a sensor-laden feeding station. Dubbed the EverBowl, the station measures dogs’ food and water consumption and eating speeds, and records chewing and swallowing sounds, facial thermals, oral motions, and a few other signals.
The company’s AI platform analyzes that data to establish a baseline and then builds a health record. Any subsequent and prolonged departures from that baseline are shown to the pet owner via an app and in long-term reports, which the company says can provide more useful data to veterinarians if and when they get involved. The app also accepts information from the user, so the baseline can be kept updated with information outside the sensors’ scope.
