Introducing the Shazam Talking Collar — A Way to Communicate With Your Dogs and Cats

The American startup Personifi AI has unveiled the Shazam Talking Collar, claiming it allows pet owners to interact with their furry friends.

This device, equipped with both a microphone and speaker, uses pre-recorded human voices to simulate communication with pets, rather than some advanced or futuristic technology designed to read animal thoughts, as one might initially expect. At its core, the conversation system is driven by a chatbot that uses machine learning and draws from a vast database of responses.

Users can further personalize the experience by selecting from 27 different characters, each with its own distinct personality. These characters come with approximately 8,000 unique dialogue phrases, and the vocabulary will continue to grow and improve over time, making interactions feel more dynamic and natural.

The inspiration for the collar came after Roscoe, the founder's dog, was bitten by a rattlesnake. At first, the founder didn't realize what had happened, but hours later, Roscoe appeared seriously ill. Fortunately, Roscoe made a full recovery, but it took 10 days of veterinary treatment, which was both lengthy and expensive. This event made the developer reflect on whether he could have detected the issue sooner and possibly changed the outcome.

In addition to making it easier to communicate with pets, the Shazam collar includes a range of safety features. These include rattlesnake detection, GPS location tracking, and feeding reminders. In case of emergencies, the collar can send alerts to the pet owner, ensuring timely intervention when needed.

The collars are priced at $495 for cats and $595 for dogs. There's also an annual subscription fee of either $195 or $295, depending on the services selected. The first year of use is free, and after that, the subscription renews automatically. Currently, the devices are available for pre-order, with shipping anticipated to start no earlier than February 2025.

For now, Shazam only supports English and is designed specifically for use with dogs and cats. However, the company has future plans to create similar devices for other types of animals and, eventually, even for humans.