Tech

New Unisys service enables owners to chat to their pets while they fly

Unisys Corporation has announced the launch of Digi-Pet – a new innovative animal transportation service designed to take the stress out of flying pets in aircraft cargo holds.
The product provides pet owners with the ability to monitor and talk to their pets via their personal devices such as smartphones. Digi-Pet enables airlines to offer niche pet transport services featuring a high-quality customer experience for both the pet and pet owner.
It uses Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology via smart sensors attached to the pet’s kennel or carry case to monitor and transmit key metrics such as temperature, oxygen levels, vibration and light, and automatically alert the pet owner and airline staff if any factors require action.
Pet owners can also subscribe to live video streaming, photos and voice exchanges so that they can see and talk to their pet via an app on their smart phone or tablet.
Unisys senior industry director of freight solutions, Venkatesh Pazhyanur said: “We are emotionally attached to our pets and it can be distressing to be separated from them when traveling by air.
“Large pets – whether accompanied or not – must travel in the cargo hold. Unisys Digi-Pet uses IoT sensors to provide pet owners with full visibility of their pet’s comfort and the environmental conditions, as well as enabling them to talk to their pet – calming both the pet and owner.”
Digi-Pet is part of the Unisys Digistics suite of digital logistics solutions for air cargo carriers. The 20 global airlines that subscribe transport more than 180,000 animals annually.
Pazhyanur added: “Unisys Digi-Pet uses innovative IoT technology to enable air carriers to offer niche pet travel services, allowing them to enter and capture a high yield growing market while improving customer experience and loyalty as pet owners don’t need to find specialised pet or other transport modes for their needs.”
In addition to transporting domestic pets, this service can be used by shippers and carriers that transport other animal cargo such as horses, day-old chicks or hatching eggs, which require consistent heat, oxygen and light.
Digi-Pet assists airlines to comply with IATA’s Live Animals Regulations and was debuted in the US at last month’s IATA World Cargo Symposium in Dallas.
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