One of the engineers who worked at Amazon’s Alexa and the Akvelon company developed MeowTalk, an app that aims to translate the meows of cats, through software with artificial intelligence (AI).
The company said at a conference that its technology is currently capable of identifying up to 13 phrases, including requests for food, pain and anger.
According to the Journal of Veterinary Science , cats vocalize to communicate with humans and express their internal states. So far, 21 different vocalizations from domestic cats have been identified based on an auditory classification performed by the researchers.
The study finds that the environment has a significant impact on vocal behavior, and therefore wild cats and domestic cats vocalize differently. Domestic cats are able to create efficient communication with humans thanks to the flexibility of vocalization behaviors.
How MeowTalk works
The user must download the app and record the sounds of their cat. Artificial intelligence and software will understand the pet better the more the platform is used. As each cat’s meow is unique, a profile must be created for each of them.
The application is now available for free for both the Android and iOS operating systems. Within its policies, MeowTalk specifies that it is still under development and may have some flaws when used.
Akvelon’s plans
Javier Sánchez, former Amazon engineer and manager of the technical program that develops Akvelon applications, indicated that the firm’s ultimate goal is to accompany MeowTalk with the development of a smart collar.