“MEOW!” MeeeeeOWWW!” Ever wonder what Felix or Muffy are really trying to say?
Now you can, thanks to a new app called MeowTalk, which was developed by Javier Sanchez, who worked on Amazon’s Alexa.
MeowTalk processes the sounds your cat makes and then tries to identify what the cat is trying to say.
Users record their cat’s meow and then the artificial intelligence takes over. In other words, it starts to “learn” your cat’s language based on information owners input into the app.
At present, there are 13 phrases in the app’s vocabulary including: “Feed me!”, “I’m angry!” and “Leave me alone!”
Research suggests that cats do not actually meow to each other in the wild. The communication is unique between cats and people, and each cat’s meow is unique to a certain owner. Because of that, the app’s translation is tailored for each individual profile.
“By recording and labelling sounds, the artificial intelligence and machine-learning software can better understand each individual cat’s voice – the more it’s used, the more accurate it can become,” says Sanchez.
The end goal is a smart collar that would translate your cat’s meow instantly. Instead of “MEOWWWWWWWWWWWWW, the owner might hear things like, “I’m hungry and I don’t want THAT chicken food today, I want the liver instead.”
The technology is now available in the Apple App and Google Play stores.
