Smart cat door blocks the arrival of unwanted prey

"Flappie" uses a specially developed algorithm which automatically checks whether a cat has anything in its mouth. Keystone / Julian Stratenschulte

A smart cat door developed by students at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich can block a cat’s attempt to arrive home carrying prey.

Twin brothers Oliver and Denis Wilder, students at ETH Zurich, combined artificial intelligence with an integrated prey detection system in the creation of “Flappie”, a smart cat door. The main task of Flappie is to block cats from entering the home with unwanted prey.

It does this through the use of a sophisticated night-vision system with a motion detector, infrared camera and infrared lighting. A specially developed algorithm automatically checks whether the cat has anything in its mouth; if a live or dead prey is detected, the cat and its prey remain locked out.

The brothers have always liked to build and tinker, according to a statement by ETH ZurichExternal link. However, the idea for the clever cat door came from their mother, who had to clean up after their two family cats, Dixie and Rocky, most often, said Oliver Widler.

The brothers have established the start-up “Flappie Technologies” and have developed an app for the door that provides pictures and videos of the cat, even when it is dark – using the night-vision system. “This allows pet owners to observe their pets’ unique and humorous behaviour,” they said.

Development flurry

Flappie is not the only smart cat flap in development. A few other prototypes are currently in production as well. For now Flappie is only available for pre-order.