This automated pet toilet is like a litter box for dogs

Forget walking your dog in the rain or having to clean up pet accidents in your house. Now, your furry friend can have an automated pet toilet to make going to the bathroom that much easier. Called Inubox, the toilet designed for dogs captures, processes and contains waste with an automated process.

When your pet steps on the Inubox platform, the system detects your canine, and once they finish relieving themselves, it senses the waste and closes the platform to clean it up. Then, it also deploys a treat for your pet.

At CES 2019, the Austin-based startup sparked conversation with its pet toilet. It added to the excitement around technology for pets, a hot topic at the Las Vegas annual conference.

“As dog owners we realize we spend too many hours away from home, leaving our dogs alone, and that can make dogs sick by holding his pee for too long,” said Ivan Gutierrez, one of the Inubox founders, to This Dog’s Life. “So, we have created the first fully automated dog toilet so they can use it on demand. Your dog needs a place to do his business while you are away at work, your house will stay clean and odorless and your dog will be happy.”

The Inubox co-founders say that this is the world’s first smart pet toilet for dogs. However, similar smart products to dispose of pet waste are on the market. 

Brilliant Pad, a self-cleaning toilet pad works best for dogs under 25 lbs. that are trained to pads, and uses a timer or a button to switch out soiled pads in favor of clean new ones.

$250 at BrilliantPad

Litter Robot 3 Connect, an automatic litter box for cats is WiFi-enabled, so you can remotely monitor litter box usage. Litter is automatically scooped into a waste drawer for hands-free disposal.

$549 at Litter-Robot

Still, the Inubox does seem to have some interesting features, from the 20 built-in sensors that analyze your pet’s activity to the hydrophonic technology that makes its surfaces waste-resistant. This system delivers the waste packaged in a sealed baggie, just as you’d have if you picked the poop up yourself. Deploying a treat automatically is genius! There’s an app so you can control the unit remotely, but there’s also a small touch screen. The Inubox even releases a fragrance into the air after your pet has done her thing, which makes it more functional than actual human toilets.

Inubox is using Kickstarter to fund its initial production. The company has already raised over $40,000 to help bring the items into the production phase. With a $696 pledge, backers can get their name on the list for delivery, which the company says it plans for November 2019.

The creators posted an update on its Kickstarter page on March 9, reading, “We couldn’t have done it without you! A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR BACKERS! After all the headaches of designing and testing we’ve been through, we can finally say – IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. We have officially hit our funding GOAL! ”

It also went on to read, “On behalf of the whole Inubox team, and all our partners, we sincerely thank YOU for the support and feedback given to us. We could not have done it without you. We will keep you updated.”

With the newly received funding, it looks like this product is on track to become available for purchase fairly soon. Once you have an automated toilet, just add some comfy pet furniture, and your dog will be in heaven!