Sharp boffins have emerged from their smoke filled labs holding a toilet for cats that literally takes the piss and analyses it so owners users to check their pets' health data via smartphones.  It is unclear if the moggy will have to sign a GDPR agreement to share the sensitive data.

The toilet costs $225, plus tax, will be sold on Sharp’s website from July 30. Users of the product are required to pay a monthly usage fee of $2.75, plus tax, for the service.

AI and IoT technologies, which connect electronic devices and household appliances to service providers via the Internet, enabled Sharp to reate the smart “pet tech” device for cats that are prone to kidney and urinary tract diseases.

The smart cat toilet works by using sensors to collect relevant information, including an animal’s weight and urine analysis, and then sends the data to an AI program via the Internet.

Next, the AI analyzes the information based on data collected in a joint study between Tottori University and Sharp.

When abnormalities are detected in a cat’s health, the AI program sends a report containing that information, along with the cat’s daily health data, to the owner’s smartphone.

Yoshisuke Hasegawa, a senior official at Sharp, which has set a sales target of 10 billion yen for its pet tech products in fiscal 2020 said: “Pets are now considered members of the family.”  We know what he means we often routinely scan our family member's bowel movements and send the data to a Japanese telly maker for advice. You are probably the same.

The company has already developed technologies to measure the balance of autonomic nerves that signal whether dogs feel relaxed or nervous by measuring their heart and respiratory rates with a sensor that can be attached to a dog’s front leg.