Dogs Do Their Own Shopping Using Facial Recognition Technology At This Online Pet Store

Petz, a Brazil-based pet shop chain, has decided to adopt artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology and come up with a groundbreaking platform allowing dogs to do their own shopping.

There is nothing more heartbreaking for dog owners than when they buy their dogs new toys only to see them become uninterested. Now, thanks to Pet-Commerce, an online pet store from Brazilian Petz brand, pet owners can avoid these types of experiences by letting their dogs choose their own products.

The working mechanism of the online pet store is through facial expression analysis. All the owner has to do is holding an internet-connected camera in front of the dog’s face. After that, its facial expressions are analyzed by the AI that powers the site as the owner scrolls through the site products listing. If it detects excitement from the dog, the product will then automatically added to the shopping cart. Once your pet is done with shopping, you can pay for its order.

To turn Pet-Commerce into a reality, Ogilvy, the renowned advertising agency’s Brazilian branch, decided to team up with Leonardo Ogata, a professional dog trainer. Ogata has provided the system with valuable information about different dog breeds’ facial expressions and their meaning. Thousands of dogs’ pictures were used to train the artificial intelligence so it could detect even the smallest details of expression from the pet.

Ogata said:

For the camera to pick up the reaction of the dog, its owner has to hold their device, either it is a smartphone, tablet or computer over the pet’s face. As they scroll through the product listing on Pet Commerce, from balls, toys to bones, a video will start playing to attract the attention of the animal. All the video were in blue and yellow, as according to Ogata, these are the colors which dogs can see best. The volume should be turned up, and the owner should avoid constraining the dog.

Ogata continued:

The dog’s reactions are picked up by the facial recognition technology and based on different factors, the interest is rated by the AI, from low interest (red bone) to high interest (green bone). Once the AI detects interest, it will automatically add the product to the shopping cart. The transaction is finalized with the owner filling in all personal information.

Pet-Commerce is designed for dogs only. However, Petz’s CEO, Sergio Zimerman, said that the company may add an option for cats in the future.