Apriori Control
Apriori Control is a technology company that "provides real-time physical interactions over the internet." It manufactures devices that can be controlled remotely. A popular product is IPET Companion, which allows users to view and interact with pets.
iPet Companion
Apriori Control developed iPet Companion in cooperation with the Idaho Humane Society and the Oregon Humane Society. Using cat toys tied to robotic arms, website visitors could play with kittens housed at the societies' animal shelters. Since the installation, pet adoptions have increased at both shelters.
The idea was born serendipidously when an engineer's cat distracted him from working on a robotic arm. Apriori Control donated a prototype system to the Idaho Humane Society for the initial launch in June 2010. All the toy mechanisms were broken within the first week, and had to be strengthened to survive the "destructive capacity of a roomful of kittens."
An iPet Companion system was installed at Bideawee in New York City in October 2011, making it the only shelter on the East Coast of the United States with the system.
The web interface requires Microsoft Silverlight.