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Tech Tool Aims to Translate Cat Talk

Japanese firm crafts Meowlingual to interpret cat behavior, sounds.

Martyn Williams, IDG News Service

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You and your cat could be on the verge of becoming a lot closer. After the success of a device designed to interpret a dog's moods and feelings, Japan's Takara is planning a similar gadget for cats.

The Meowlingual is still under development and few details are available. However, Tokyo-based Takara says the gadget will have some of the same functions as the Bowlingual translator. Among them: the capability to "translate" cat calls into one of around 200 phrases that are displayed on a built-in LCD.

Listening to Cats

Unlike the Bowlingual, the cat translator will be a single unit, as a neck-worn microphone was judged impractical for cats. People will hold up the device to their cats so it can record their calls. The gadget also provides body-language analysis and medical analysis. It offers a feline fortune-telling function and other features that are still under development, Takara representatives say.

The Meowlingual is due to go on sale in November priced at about $75.

Consumer reaction in Japan will help the company determine whether or how to sell it overseas, according to Takara. Its sales forecast of 300,000 units in its first five months of sales indicates the company expects the Meowlingual will be a more popular item than the equivalent dog device. Japan had 7.1 million cats and 9.5 million dogs in 2002, according to the Japan Pet Food Manufacturers Association.

Doggie Devices

The company's Bowlingual, which shipped in Japan last September, has proved to be a hit with dog owners. The company has sold around 300,000 units since its debut and released a localized version in South Korea in May. An English version is due in the United States in August.

The Bowlingual is not the only high-tech gadget available for Japanese dogs today. Security company Secom unveiled in June a tracking service that uses global positioning satellite technology to locate dogs.

A similar service was envisaged in 2000 when Keiji Tachikawa, president of cellular carrier NTT DoCoMo, predicted that around 20 million cats and dogs in Japan would wear tracking devices linked to cellular networks by 2010. None of Japan's cellular carriers has yet to announce such a service.

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