The 3D Printed Robot That Entertains Your Cat For Hours

Finnish maker and engineering student Miska Karvonen has invented what may be the world’s best cat toy (besides humans). It’s the Cat Laser Entertainer Robot, which uses the familiar red laser dot to entertain your cat when your attention has flagged and the cat is still intent on hunting. This one, made from 3D printed parts using a couple of servos, an Arduino board with a simple shield, a 9v batter, and a few other components, moves the red dot around in random, jerky motions like a human would. You can make your own robotic cat toy by following Karvonen’s instructions on his Instructables and MakerBot Thingiverse pages. Check out more details (and a cat video) in the full story: http://3dprint.com/62487/3d-printed-cat-laser-toy/


Below is a look at Karvonen's creation and cat:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload..._featured1.jpg

I definitely don't want to point a laser pointer to my cat, or somewhere he looks at. It is so bright, after couple of minutes, their eyes (much more sensitive than ours) must be hurt. And what if the cat realizes that the source of the light is the robot and look directly to the pointer? When I wasn't thinking of the brightness of the laser and tried to entertain my cat with it, after a minute, he realized it was me who control the pointer and jump to my lap, sniffed the pointer then lost its interest (well it is an Angora cat, one of the most intelligent cats in the world). If a cat does the same thing to the robot, it might harm its eyes.

Good idea, but the laser pointer must be replaced with a flash light or something less harmful.

Laser pointers are a very, very popular toy for cat owners, as cats love them. My cats (and even my dog!) absolutely love chasing the laser pointer on the wall. Even if they start to notice where it's coming from, they don't really care, because the red dot is moving! The robotic device seems perfect, as they want to play with that far longer than I ever want to sit there with it. Really clever project :)

It would both suck & be funny at the same time when & if the cat / dog decimates the robot heh

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by raysspl

It would both suck & be funny at the same time when & if the cat / dog decimates the robot heh

---

Haha, so true! Pretty handy though, to be able to keep making new iterations until there's a sturdier one to make sure it would last in a home for a while. I think with my pets I'd need to eventually make a safe housing for it for sure.

What a complete waste of time. Pinch of catnip in a cloth bag on the end of a bungie cord would do better. Personally, I would just get rid of the cat and solve the whole issue with no expense. Frankly the only laser I would like to point at the useless cat would be a 40watt CO2.

I think that it is a very cool project
I have a cat too and I want the same robot for my cat ahaha

I think that the current thread is indeed interesting, thanks for sharing! I would like to get in touch with you in the future.

great thing :))

Where can I find these entertaining tools for my cat? Is this your individual project and no similar stuff is sold on the market? I’ve been looking recently for such tools, but no luck. Probably, laser tools aren’t produced because they can destroy the cats’ eyes. Though, it can happen only if the cats will look for a longer period of time into that laser. You know my cat have severe hiccups, and on petsoid.com is advised to keep her always busy with something. Eventually, hiccups will smooth or disappear completely. Guys do you know any online sources where I can get these laser toys?