Most cats are happy with a toy mouse/bird stuffed full of catnip. Some even need a laser pointer or a captive ball-in-track game to keep their minds challenged. Then there are the intelligent cats, the hunter-predators. They need a challenge to keep them from developing psychological issues due to frustration and boredom.
I have such a cat. I believe that using the Walabot I'll be able to build a cat toy that can detect not only where the cat is (with relation to the toy) but also when the cat is pouncing for the kill. This would allow the toy to run away, or hide and then re-appear somewhere else.
The device would take the shape of a large pizza box with several holes along the edges. An electro-mechanical device like a solenoid or linear actuator would push a toy mouse out one of the holes. The Walabot would let the microprocessor determine which mouse to move, according to the location of the cat. As the cat attacks, the walabot would detect the movement, and the mouse would retreat back into the box and a second later appear in another hole.
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