Owners can feed pets - by smartphone

A revolutionary new invention means pet owners can now feed their animals when they're away - by smartphone.

Carlos Herrera has developed a wireless pet-feeder that owners can control from their handset to ensure their animals never miss a meal.

Called the Pintofeed, it not only dispenses food, either on schedule or by phone command, but also monitors your pet and sends alerts.

Owners can be updated on their pet's feeding routine by text, email, Facebook or Twitter message.

Mr Herrera, from Los Angeles, said: "We wanted to build a product that provided convenience to the pet owner and healthy eating to the pet.

"With our background in robotics and artificial intelligence, we felt like we could create a smart web connected appliance that could do both autonomously."

Mr Herrera added: "Ironically, I do not have pets, but most of our team members do.

"We do have an office dog named 'Underdog' - he helps us with usability testing!"