The MeowBox – The First Bluetooth cat box – to keep your cat secure.

Keep unwanted pets away and give your cat their own access ‘key’.

By installing the MeowBox you will know where your cat is, keep unwanted cats and other small animals out of the house, and provide your cat with easy access.

The MeowBox has been designed to provide access to those animals with a synchronized tag, and block other animal’s from entering the premises.

By programming the tags you can decide which pets have entry rights and which ones are kept outside.

With a curfew mode and safety lock, your cats or pets can be sent a signal, reminding them to come home and if they escape through a window, they can easily re-enter the home at their leisure.

The Team Behind the MeowBox

We are OYOMA, a start-up created in 2012, in France to develop the Home Automation products and systems of tomorrow…today!

At OYOMA we share a vision of perfection with our customers, developing cutting edge home automation technology solutions that improve daily life, solving everyday challenges and making our customers happy.

Our Home automation solutions include:

Mini Linux server using Raspberry Pi as primary Home Automation controller

Video door IP phone entry systems

Energy and water consumption sensors

Smart Locker for parcel security and distribution

Our Home automation systems can be controlled with an Android smartphone or tablet, and helps our customers to easily and comfortably control the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in the home along with the lights, blinds, and many other devices.

We were recently asked to find a solution for a safe and secure cat flap, that keeps neighbourhood cats out of the home, keeps tabs on your cats and pets, and can be programmed to manage entry and exit permissions.

So we developed the MeowBox, a cat detection box that can be later integrates with your home automation system allowing the latest technology to make you and your cats life easy.

How The MeowBox Works

The MeowBox is the first Bluetooth energy efficient electronic door-opening reminder device that provides programmable home access and exit functions for your pets.

With the MeowBox there is no need to cut a hole in your door, as with traditional cat flaps, maintaining the look of your door and house, but still providing your pets with the freedom they need.

The cat will have a programmed tag attached to its collar, which will be synchronized with the MeowBox, which is located inside the house. The owner can decide on the settings and ensure that only the cat or cats wearing a programmed tag will be able to trigger the MeowBox, reminding you to open the door to let them in.

This will keep other neighbourhood cats and small animals out of the house, combating the age-old problem of cat anxiety due to intruders in the home stealing food and marking the territory as theirs.

The communication between the tag on the cat collar and the MeowBox uses Bluetooth 4.0. for ease of use, and energy efficiency, and when the owner is ready to let the cat out, the owner simply presses the ON button to activate the MeowBox, so that when the cat returns home, the signal will remind you the owner to open the door and let the cat in.

The tag and MeowBox box also has a built in calling feature, allowing you to remind the cat to come home, if it is in signal distance of the MeowBox. The cat will hear a ‘ding-dong’ sound, reminding the cat to come home, and again once the cat approaches the MeowBox will remind the owner to open the door, allowing the cat entry.

Why The MeowBox?

The MeowBox is a truly an innovative device-providing simple yet effective security, access and exit options for your cat.

The design of the MeowBox allows your cat to roam freely, with the option to return home quickly and safely.

The MeowBox provides a modern option preventing other cats and small animals from entering the home through a traditional cat flap.

The technology used allows the MeowBox to integrate with the NovoSIP door entry system.

The Home automation design of the MeowBox allows the device to be paired with Home automated electronic door locks, which will eventually allow the device to trigger the lock allowing automatic entry even if the owner is not home. 

The use of Bluetooth, which is energy efficient, in the manufacture of the  MeowBox, makes for a great solution in the manufacture of similar or related products.

As an open source company we have decided against a patent, as we know that future development will benefit the welfare of animals and pets everywhere. 

What We Need & What You Get

We need to raise $30000 to complete the development of The MeowBox.

Once the funds have been raised we will

·  Produce 250 kits including the mould for the tag and up to 5 tags per unit.

·  Develop the NovoSIP functionality – which integrates a door entry system into the MeowBox

·  Market and promote the  MeowBox on the pet accessories and the Home automation market

Early Bird pre-order - The kit will be available for $120 and includes:

·  1 Bluetooth Tag, 1 MeowBox and 1 Power Supply. 

(Value of $150)

Technical Specifications 

MeoBox

Dimensions: 115x75x23mm
Weight: 112g
Power: 5vdc/2A power supply (included)
Consumption: <7W
Technology: Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth Low Energy)
Output contact for optional use if you have flap with electric strike: up to 2A

Tag

Technology: Bluetooth 4.0 (Bluetooth Low Energy)
Range: 15m
Dimensions: 30 Diam x 9mm width
Autonomy: One year, with use in twice daily
Battery Type: CR2032 button battery (replaceable)

How to install 

When installing the MeowBox simply find a power point close to the front door, and program the tag for your cat’s collar, which must be done within a 2m radius to begin with.

Once the tag has been synchronised, the Meow Box will emit a signal up to 12m away, reminding you to open the door in plenty of time for the cat to run into the house.

If your front door is already equipped with an electronic cat flap, then you can use the 2A output of the MeowBox to operate the opening of the flap using the same technology to detect the oncoming signal from the cat tag.

Once the cat is safely indoors then simply turn the MeowBox setting to off. 

Installing diagram in case you have an electric flap:

The Impact

The MeowBox will improve the security of household cats and give the owners peace of mind that they will wake up to find a strange cat or small fox in their house or on the bed.

The household cats will no longer have the challenge of a neighbourhood stray intruding into their home and stealing their food and marking the territory or even fighting the house cat.

The reduction in anxiety improves the health of the cats, reducing Cystitis and the need to spay the house.

The cats will have easy access whenever they need whether the owner is home or not, making the cat feel safe and secure while still having the freedom to take regular walks outside the home.

The use of Bluetooth 4.0 technology increases the energy efficiency of the product, allows the cat flap and tags to be managed by Smartphone or tablet and to be integrated with existing or new Home Automation systems.

By further developing the product to include the NovoSIP door entry system, the cat will be able to activate the door entry, giving the owner additional control over entry into the home. 

Risks & Challenges

OYOMA has successfully created innovative products like NovoSIP, the SIP video door phone that was launched in September 2014, and is used in many apartment buildings and houses throughout France.

The MeowBox is important for Oyoma to give the NovoSIP and all access control developments the added Bluetooth solution in addition to RFID access control that already operates existing products and systems including our collective door panel.

How You Can Help

·  Share our campaign on your social media

·  Like and share our posts on the campaign Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MeowboxForCatAccessToM...

·  Use the Indiegogo share tools!

·  Check out our MeowBox web site: http://www.meowbox.biz

·  Check out our Company web site: http://www.oyoma.net

·  Check out our video door phone web site: http://www.novosip.com

·  Tell all of your family and friends

·  Share with early adopters and Home automation enthusiasts

·  Share with pet lovers and cat owners everywhere!

Supporters Perks

Thank you for supporting our campaign! We are so grateful we put some really interesting and useful perks together for you.