THE OWNERS OF a smart pet-feeding device were told to ensure they fed their pets themselves after a service outage stopped the device from working.
The PetNet SmartFeeder is a US-only device which automatically manages feeding times for your pet. While you’re away, it automatically manages portion size, food supply and can have pet food ordered and delivered to your door.
The device links to a smartphone app allowing owners to check their pets are being fed or make adjustments while they’re away.
However, a server issue meant that the devices were unable to connect online, leaving many pets without their scheduled meals.
In an email sent to customers, PetNet told customers to “please ensure that your pets have been fed manually” until the issue was resolved.
PetNet said it had released a firmware update that would allow the device to keep feeding when the servers are down.
It told The Guardian that 10% of users were affected by the outage and that it was down to a third-party server not having redundancy backups.
The problem was eventually resolved ten hours after the issue arose.
PetNet is one of a growing number of devices which fall under the Internet of Things category, an approach which connects normal objects to the internet as a way of making them smarter.
One of the most high-profile examples would be Nest, a smart thermostat which learns a home’s heating patterns and adjusts them so it becomes more energy efficient. It was acquired by Google back in 2014.
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