Do you have a pet like a cat or a dog? Do you have places in your house where you don't want your pet to go, like a couch or a kitchen sink? You know they'll use the damn couch whenever you're away, don't you? Well, I have exactly the same problem with my two cats. That's why I came up with the resPEcTifier. So, it's basically an armed pet detector. Non-lethally armed, of course, because we love our pets. It’s composed by three units working together: - a coordinate based pet detector - an aiming device - a weapons system The coordinate based pet detector component identifies the pet position relative to the forbidden areas. It could identify the pet based on its temperature. A cat has a normal temperature between 39 and 39,5º Celsius. A person's normal temperature is around 37º Celsius. This difference could be used to distinguish the pet from the owner (avoiding the forbidden areas when with fever or after physical activities would probably be a good idea). A more sophisticated option for this component would be a neural network that would learn to distinguish between pet and people. The aiming device doesn’t need great explanations. The weapons system could go from a water pump to ping-pong ball cannon, a shoe thrower (if you’re slightly violence prone or if your pet is a rottweiler).

Alternative system Instead of using a complicated aiming and weapons system, an inflatable version of the owner could be filled with air whenever the pet tried to sit on the couch, for instance. A recording of the angry voice of the owner could be played. After scaring the pet away, the air filled owner could be deflated to be prepared for another round.
-- PauloSargaco, Mar 22 2003

Scat Mats http://www.petsmart...s/product_302.shtml
[Shz, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]

Just be careful when you return home from a good tennis match with your boss: your body temperature will be higher than normal and the ping-pong ball cannon will hit you, causing great pain. Your cat will still be on the couch, playing with the balls that have already been fired.
-- Pericles, Mar 22 2003


You could probably nix the projectile part of this idea and just use a loud noise to keep pets away from forbidden areas. They'll learn soon enough which places scare the bejeezus out of 'em. Worked with little Albert.
-- nizgy16, Mar 22 2003


Lots of dogs wear little radio receiver collars to keep them inside their yards. If they come close to the transmitting wire (variable range), their collar gives them a shock.
The companies that make these also say you can use them indoors, for rooms and furniture.
But the fun part of your idea is changing the negative feedback from simple electro-shock to shoe-hurling hollering water cannons.
Then again, my dog would just stay out of any room that has a shoe-hurling hollering water cannon in it, no need for the damn collar.
-- roby, Mar 22 2003


I don't know about the thermosensors...what happens if you have a high fever (I don't know how high someone's fever might get in Celsius - ignorant 'merican) and are relaxing on the couch? Or if the weapon is aimed at the kitchen sink, and you turn the stove on to cook something? Maybe the system should have a specific range of temperatures to fire at so that this doesn't happen.
-- Bert6322, Mar 23 2003


Could this device be used to keep my wife off my favorite side of the couch? Um... except when I'm already there - or not home - and would she need to wear a collar? Never mind - too many issues. I'm quite sure my dog sits on the couch when nobody's home. I've often considered buying a nanny cam just to see what she does when I'm not home. My dog, not my wife.
-- Worldgineer, Mar 23 2003


[pericles] & [Bert6322] - I've warned about the fever peril. But my idea icludes an off switch :-)

[sleepygrass] : the "arfilled owner" could be made of claww proof material. Nice input.
-- PauloSargaco, Mar 23 2003


Well... I've never owned a pet, so I cant possibly imagine what all the fuss is about!

But the very idea of hurling projectiles at any of the four legged ilk gets a "+" from me; especially an idea as original as this one!
-- joker_of_the_deck, Mar 23 2003


Joker: you've never had a pet?!!! Buy one. It's never too late to recover the lost part of your childhood.

By the way, if you do get one, don't bother trying to find something like a resPEcTifier... jut buy a slave monkey.
-- Pericles, Mar 23 2003



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