​New Unisys Digi-Pet™ Service Enables Pet Owners to Monitor and Chat with Their Pets When Transporting them on Airlines

Sensors that continuously monitor comfort, automated alerts, live video streaming and voice chat remove the stress of air travel for pets and their owners

LONDON, UK, April 05, 2018 – Unisys Corporation announced Digi-Pet™, a new solution designed to take the stress out of transporting pets in aircraft cargo holds by providing pet owners with the ability to monitor and talk to their pets via their personal devices such as smartphones. Digi-Pet enables airlines to offer niche pet transport services featuring a high-quality customer experience for both the pet and pet owner. 

Unisys Digi-Pet uses Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology via smart sensors attached to the pet's kennel or carry case to monitor and transmit key metrics such as temperature, oxygen levels, vibration and light, and automatically alert the pet owner and airline staff if any factors require action. 

Pet owners can also subscribe to live video streaming, photos and voice exchanges so that they can see and talk to their pet via an app on their smart phone or tablet. 

"We are emotionally attached to our pets and it can be distressing to be separated from them when traveling by air," said Venkatesh Pazhyanur, senior industry director of Freight Solutions for Unisys. "Large pets – whether accompanied or not – must travel in the cargo hold. Unisys Digi-Pet uses IoT sensors to provide pet owners with full visibility of their pet's comfort and the environmental conditions, as well as enabling them to talk to their pet – calming both the pet and owner." 

Digi-Pet is part of the Digistics™ suite of innovative digital logistics solutions for air cargo carriers. The 20 global carriers that subscribe to Unisys Digistics transport more than 180,000 animals annually.

"Unisys Digi-Pet uses innovative IoT technology to enable air carriers to offer niche pet travel services, allowing them to enter and capture a high yield growing market while improving customer experience and loyalty as pet owners don't need to find specialised pet or other transport modes for their needs," said Pazhyanur. 

Digi-Pet assists airlines to comply with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Live Animals Regulations (LAR), the worldwide standard for transporting live animals to ensure all animals are transported safely and humanely by monitoring the pet's environmental conditions from the point of drop-off through to delivery to the final destination.  

In addition to transporting domestic pets, this service can be used by shippers and carriers that transport other animal cargo such as horses, day-old chicks or hatching eggs, which require consistent heat, oxygen and light. 

To find out if an airline offers this service, pet owners should contact the airline passenger division of the airport they wish to depart from. 

Unisys debuted Digi-Pet in the U.S. at World Cargo Symposium, in Dallas.  

About Unisys

Unisys is a global information technology company that builds high-performance, security-centric solutions for the most digitally demanding businesses and governments on Earth. Unisys offerings include security software and services; digital transformation and workplace services; industry applications and services; and innovative software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing. For more information on how Unisys builds better outcomes securely for its clients across the Government, Financial Services and Commercial markets, visit www.unisys.com.  

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