The Stylish, High-Tech Cat Toy of the Future Comes to Kickstarter

Dan Provost and Tom Gerhardt have successfully launched five different Kickstarter campaigns that all met their minimums and are now in production. After applying their penchant for simple solutions and clean designs to items like an iPhone tripod or an ice kit, the duo have now turned their attention to entertaining your cat. Their newest Kickstarter takes a tech-savvy and design-minded approach to pet toys—for a price. Their campaign predicts that the retail cost for the Obi toy will be $100 (or you can pledge $80 now to ensure you get one). So, is it worth it?

Obi combines smart phone technology with a simple truth about cats: They go crazy for lasers. In the Manual mode, you can use your iPhone or iPad as a trackpad to control the laser. If you switch to Automatic mode, Obi becomes a way to distract your cat while you attend to non feline-centered activities (like, eating dinner in peace). You can even program Obi to turn on while you're out of the house, complete with an activation sound and a prescribed boundary.

Unlike with most pet toys, the team behind Obi prides itself on creating something that's sleek, modern, and minimalist in design, so you won't mind leaving it sitting out all the time. For city cats who could use a little extra exercise, it's a brilliant innovation. And other people seem to agree—with two weeks left, Obi has already raised close to $50,000.

Check out Obi in action in the Kickstarter video below:

[h/t Contemporist]