Samsung Patent Reveals Blueprints for a Virtual Dog Leash
Wireless dog walking is almost here.
Samsung has patented some game-changing concepts in the smartphone industry. But while Apple has been working on wireless charging for its devices, it’s Korean counterpart has been pushing for…wireles dog walking.
On April 21, Samsung won a patent for a “virtual dog leash” system, which consists of a collar and smartphone application. This now-patented tech claims to let users safely walk their dogs without the need for a physical leash.
Don’t worry, this isn’t branded as a high-tech shock collar of any kind. The patent application explains that this device will attempt to mimic the same yanking force created by a leash without anything actually tethering an owner to their dog.
Instead of delivering a shock, Samsungs’ “smart collar” will use magnetic forces in the direction the user holds or moves their smartphone. The collar is depicted to have several magnetic-field generating solenoids — or metal coils wound into a tightly packed helix. The user’s smartphone would act as the anchor to this force, giving the pooch the sensation that it is being pulled in the direction of the phone as if it was a physical leash.
To avoid injuring pets, the smartphone app would allow the user to set the maximum strength of the collar based on the size of their dog. The collar would also track gestures made by the phone, meaning that if a user quickly jerks their phone in one direction the collar would respond with a strong pull in that same direction.
If users just want to keep their dogs in a general area, the patent also “virtual fence mode.” This would make the collar give the pet a magnetic tug when it steps outside of a certain radius of a phone when the app is active.
Something like this would likely not make it to market it until it has been extensively tested to show it is safe to use regularly. As Samsung just won the patent for this technology, don’t expect a prototype anytime soon.
However, this could prove useful for dog walkers who have to walk multiple dogs at once. Tangled leashes could potentially cause harm to the dogs being walked, this technology would give dog walkers or owners the same control minus all of the leashes.
Wireless charging is already here, and it looks like wireless dog walking may be arriving soon too.
