Wearable digital pet identification system to accelerate the recovery of missing pets

The QR Codes in all Pawnec-powered Pawdel accessories are still readable after being reasonably exposed to dirt, stain, or scratches.

Every QR code on it has an error tolerance of up to 30%. This means 30% of the QR code (excluding the corner elements) can be removed and the QR code will still work. This is on top of the embedded backup NFC to still make your Pawnec accessory accessible when all else fails.

The commonly used QR codes we see every day, especially from free QR code generators, are not as durable as it only has an error tolerance of 7% to 15%. That easily makes Pawnec’s advanced QR Codes twice as durable as other QR codes.

If you want to know more about our advanced QR Code technology, we explained what makes our QR Code especially designed for the daily abuse of pet wear.

Some people get confused with the account setup. So, let's break it down for you.

Glossary of Terms and Definitions

User - a pet owner who has a registered account on Pawnec
Pet - a pet created by a user to represent its profile on Pawnec
Asset - a Pawnec-powered accessory that serves as the portal to a pet's profile when scanned

Understandably, we expected this because Pawnec is not yet instinctive to pet parents unlike if you sign up for a new social medial network. In typical social media accounts, it's just a matter of one (1) user per one (1) account.

A single Pawnec account can only have one (1) user but can create one (1) or multiple pets. Every single pet under each user can be assigned one (1) or multiple assets.

So, now that you understand the interdependent relationship between a user with a pet and an asset, let's help you make your Pawnec-powered accessory function successfully.

To ensure that you properly set up a new account, please follow these steps:

1.) Scan your brand new asset with your smartphone to initiate activation.
2.) Scroll down a bit and click "Register here".
3.) Choose either Google, Facebook, or Apple icons to register via SSO.
4.) Enter your account information including your serial key and PIN.
5.) Log in by clicking either the Google, Facebook, or Apple icon, whichever you used to register.
6.) Add Pet to build your pet's profile as if you're creating a social media profile.
7.) Select an unassigned asset to assign to your newly added pet.

After following these steps, you'll be able to see your pet's profile upon scanning it again.

Additional Glossary of Terms and Definitions

Godparent - a trusted person of the pet other than the user who serves as the other emergency contact
Serial Key - a set of unique characters that must be put into a program in order to activate a software
PIN - a numeric passcode used in the process of authenticating a user accessing a system

No. Pawnec has two components. We can categorize that between essential and nice-to-haves. Our free lifetime subscription falls under the Essential subscription which is, from the word itself, essentially all you need to meet the minimum requirements to reconnect your missing pet with you.

The nice-to-haves are under the VIP (Very Important Pawdel) subscription. In times of emergency, these additional layers of information and functionality in your pet’s VIP-subscribed asset will improve the chance of your missing pet reconnecting with you. In non-emergency recreational circumstances, your pet’s VIP-subscribed asset will entitle your account to exclusive discount vouchers and redeemable VIP rewards from partner brands.

How about Pawnec's VIP features in Proactive Alert System and Expanded Location Intelligence?

Let's face it. Your pet will not go missing every day, every week, or every month. If you have that chronic problem with your pet, then you shouldn't be asking anymore the question of whether you need to invest in his/her safety and security.

As long as you put any of the affordable Pawnec-powered accessory around your pet's neck, you can always depend on it when the dreadful day comes that your pet goes missing. Upgrade on demand when you deem it necessary.

Remember, you can always count on the VIP features when the need is heightened, but it would be too late to put a Pawnec accessory on an absent pet — a missing pet. We don't have problems with opportunistic subscribers (upgrade one month then cancel anytime). Just don't blame us every time you miss out on the exclusive recreational perks for VIP subscribers. 🤞🏼

No, it's not a 24/7 GPS tracker. Pawnec’s location intelligence is distinct from a 24/7 location tracker. But let’s talk about the location tracker first. Location tracker generally uses either cellular data or Bluetooth. While Pawnec's software is ready to integrate any GPS location tracking device, the prevailing hardware technology still does not meet our minimum requirements for practical pet wear. These are:

1. Size
2. Weight
3. Power consumption
4. Cellular/Mobile data usage

But we never stop innovating. Our estimate is we’re still a few years away from minimizing all four requirements in a hardware to be a practical daily pet wear. The benefits of existing GPS location tracking devices do not outweigh the high cost and discomfort of pets who will wear them on a day-to-day basis. On the other hand, location tracking via Bluetooth may be compact, but logic tells us any pet within Bluetooth range is not a “missing pet range”. Other Bluetooth-tracking devices only work because of a vast, largely covert tracking network. But that’s another topic on personal privacy.

How GPS Tracker Works

A GPS-tracking device will not work without a nearby cell tower, its own SIM card, and a subscription to a telecommunications network provider to transmit its location data, hence it consumes power and cellular/mobile data, and then that cellular tower sends the device’s location data to another connected device (GSM/LTE), that is you, the tracking pet owner.

A Bluetooth-tracking device on the other hand is not a GPS tracker strictly speaking. It will only work if there are nearby participating (with or without consent) Bluetooth-enabled smartphones to which the Bluetooth-tracking device can transmit its approximate distance. How that smartphone unwittingly sends approximated location data to your own smartphone is still contentiously undisclosed under the scrutiny of data privacy regulators.

How Apple AirTag Works

For those unfamiliar, AirTags aren’t GPS trackers and it doesn’t have their own internet connection. Instead, it sends out a Bluetooth signal that gets picked up by other Apple devices. Those devices then ping the “lost” AirTag’s location to Apple’s iCloud servers and let you see its last-known position on a map. Its tracking only works when there is a nearby (Bluetooth-range) Apple device to send its signal to.

Specifically, AirTags utilize ultrawideband technology offered via Apple’s U1 chip, which allows for Precision Finding. This feature uses a combination of Apple's ARKit software and the phone's camera, accelerometer, and gyroscope to guide users toward the precise location of their AirTag. Users can also expect to receive helpful notes, including how many feet away their AirTag is while approaching the lost item. While ultrawideband technology allows for the convenient transmission of ultra-precise, real-time location data, we are also now aware of how it can be leveraged with nefarious intent.

Interestingly, these reasons are why Apple never officially marketed or endorsed its use on toddlers and pets. It is only intended for inanimate objects.

Imagine you receive a ping to a specific location, you arrive 15 minutes later and your pet is gone and wandering somewhere else to find the way back home. You can expect to find your valuable things such as a bag or a key staying put in the exact same location 15 or so minutes later, but you can not expect the same for a dog who can walk an average of 1 kilometer every 15 minutes (1 mile every 25 minutes) in any other direction. You choose to follow the wrong or opposite direction and you're farther away from each other than you originally were.

Pawnec's Location Intelligence

Our expanded location intelligence has passive GPS tracking by logging in your pet’s ID scanning analytics. Notably, where Pawnec's location tracking differs, is its location history logs the GPS location, IP address, date, and time for proper cross-examination when investigating the whereabouts of your pet.

This is on top of the pinned frequently visited and trusted locations of your pet where a person who finds your pet can easily navigate the direction back to you or these trusted addresses. Our multiple layers of location intelligence comprise our multiple layers of connectivity for your pet’s multiple chances of reconnecting with you.

Pawnec is a missing pet recovery software system to help address the missing pet epidemic. An affordable technology designed specifically for pets that is indiscriminate to any breed or species.

Sometimes the best response to a complex problem is the simplest solution. Pawnec is not the only solution to the larger problem of missing and stray pets. But it’s the most accessible and practical technology available to all pet parents.

As a side note, some people argue that this will not work for cases of theft. What makes you think a thief who steals your dog or cat will happily keep the stolen pet's tracker around their neck? In fact, an unsuspecting thief who scans the pet's ID will unwittingly send their IP address back to you, an important clue to investigating cybercrime (IP addresses provide investigators a trail to discover and follow, which may lead to the person(s) responsible for the crime.) if you're willing to go to that extent. But aren't we pet parents willing to do the fullest extent for our furbabies?

Absolutely! In fact, it is best to have both as a safeguard for your pet’s first-line and second-line of identification. Both biochips and Pawnec function in different stages of the missing pet recovery cycle.

Biochips can only be scanned in participating veterinary clinics, animal control agencies or shelters. Whereas Pawnec can be scanned by practically anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection --- isn’t that more than half of the people on the planet?

More importantly, the time and space (or effort) between your pet going missing and the lucky chance of ending up in a biochip-scanning equipped animal/impounding shelter is where and when Pawnec can help. That is why Pawnec is your pet’s first-line of identification. We don’t want your pet to unnecessarily go through the traumatic experience of --- missing pet purgatory --- neither found nor dead. But a biochip is still a recommended backup when all else fails.