tech
Whisker’s AI-powered litter robot thinks my cats swapped bodies
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TL;DR
- The Litter-Robot 5 Pro ($899) and Litter-Robot Evo ($599) were tested over six months.
- The core function of automatic waste scooping is effective, reducing manual chores and odor.
- AI features like WasteID (differentiating waste types) and Cat ID (facial recognition) do not work reliably.
- Cat ID misidentified the reviewer's two distinct cats, leading to incorrect weight tracking and data.
- The accompanying app provides limited functionality and requires an $8/month subscription for AI features.
- The Evo model has several drawbacks compared to the Litter-Robot 4, including no litter-level monitoring and a smaller bin.
- The reviewer recommends the standard Litter-Robot 5 or older models like the Litter-Robot 4 over the 5 Pro due to the AI's poor performance.
- The article suggests that many smart home companies, including Whisker with this product, over-rely on AI's potential rather than its current capabilities.