TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Fujitsu Ltd. will begin offering a new service later this year enabling dog owners to monitor the health of their pets via card-shaped devices attached to their collars, the company said Monday.
The Japanese computer maker plans to cooperate with some pet business firms to provide the new service, as pet dogs are living longer and "increasingly face the same kinds of lifestyle diseases as humans, including obesity and diabetes," Fujitsu said.
"To prevent illnesses in pets, it is important that their daily activities be monitored, as is the case for humans," it said.
The device, which measures 3 centimeters wide, 5 cm long and 1.5 cm thick and weighs 20 grams, will record the number of steps taken, body temperature changes and other health data. The information can then be downloaded wirelessly to either a smartphone or personal computer.
Dog owners may also use Fujitsu's cloud computing service to store the data for a long time.
