build a pet feeder

Question
Dear Charlotte,

I am a 4th year computer and electrical engineeering student at UBC. My group in design project course is trying to come up with ideas for a cool project. We had an idea about building an automatic pet feeder with many cool features on it. However, we haven't really come up with useful and special features yet.

Would you give me some suggestions on what features to build into the new pet feeder that would help a Vet or Zoologist to know more about the animal?
i.e. temperature moniter for the pet, heart rate moniter, eat habit analysis...

Thank you for the help!

Answer
Gee Danny;
Ask me to tell you what is going on in a dog's mind when they do quirky things, or what they could be pretending when they act squirrely, and I can give you some good input. My husband says I am a reincarnated dog.LOL
But to tell you anything about electronic monitoring,,,,
Boy, have you come to the wrong person.
I can't think that their feeding habits etc, could be monitored, except with a camera setup. Their weight could be by a pad they step on to eat.Heart rate etc, is such an individual thing for each animal, as are eating habits etc.
You would do better to ask Veterinarians, since they deal with monitoring such things.As a pet owner, I just take them for Vet visits regularly and let him do the diagnosing, and i follow his instructions.
I'll tell you what I would like to see, but I can think of no way it could be done.
I think the invention to top ALL other inventions, is a device like a pad they could sit on, or a device of some kind, that would read a human baby and an animals thoughts, and print them out or play them as voices,so we could know the things that go on in those minds.
I think the world would be astonished at the things they inderstand and know.
Don't suppose your group could manage to develope a jigger like that, could you?
Sorry I couldn't help you more, but that is just way out of my range of expertise.
Charlotte