2018 15th International Joint Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (JCSSE)

Bokk Meow: A Mobile Application for Finding and

Tracking Pets
Songsri Tangsripairoj, Parit Kittirattanaviwat, Kamonwan Koophiran, Lalita Raksaithong
Faculty of Information and Communication Technology
Mahidol University
Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
songsri.tan@mahidol.ac.th and {paritbsg2538, kamonwan.koop, lalita.raks}@gmail.com

Abstract— Nowadays, the number of pets lost is increasing in
Thailand. This is because the pet owners cannot find their pet
when it gets lost or pets may not have a chance to get back again
due to an accident or dangerous disease. In order to prevent this
problem, this research project proposes Bokk Meow, which is a
mobile application for pet owners to find and track their pets
anywhere and anytime. Bokk Meow has six main functions,
which are managing user and pet information, tracking and
finding pets by applying GPS technology with a tracking pet
collar, planning a schedule for pet care and activities, posting and
viewing news feeds, searching nearest pet clinics or pet shops,
and viewing useful pet care and pet information. By using Bokk
Meow, the pet owners can find their pets more conveniently than
in the past and take primary care of their pets when they get sick.
As a result, the application can help decrease the number of stray
pets in the community.
Keywords— finding pet; GPS; mobile application; pet lost;
tracking pet
I. INTRODUCTION
At present, there are many stray pets in Thailand, in which
some pets may be fortunate enough to get back to their owner.
Otherwise, those pets might become strays, and they might be
harmful to the community. According to the number of pets
that had been lost, most people may have no chance in finding
their pets due to those pets not having a tracking system on the
pet collar. Thus, a proportion of pets might become homeless
and maybe strayed.
Moreover, one of the most notable problems pets have is
the risk from the disease. Diseases occur in pets with and
without owners. There are two types of risk. The first is
harmful to people, such as Rabies [1], which may cause death
if some people are infected with this disease. The other type of
risk in pets are not harmful to people, which might include
things like blood parasites. Sometimes, people may not know
how severe the problem is for the pet so those people may not
care for their pet well enough and that pet might die.
Currently, the pet organizations in Thailand do not play
important roles in finding lost pets. People do not have too
many channels for finding their lost pets. For this reason, the
researcher team developed this application to be an alternative
way for helping people to find lost pets.
From our surveys via Google Forms about using pet
applications, the total number of participants was 173 who are
the pet owners. There were more than 90 percent of
participants who had never used pet applications before.
Moreover, the top five functions that users desired in a pet
application are tracking and GPS, notifying when a pet goes
far away from the user, general pet information, pet care, and
finding the nearby location of a pet shop and veterinary
hospitals respectively.
Although there are several tracking or finding pet
applications in the world, most of the applications do not
cover Thailand. As a result, many people in our survey think
that Thailand does not have an innovation about a tracking
system for pets, so they are not familiar with the pet
applications that they are provided.
II. BACKGROUND AND RELATED WORK
A. Lost Pets
Lost pets are pets that run away and cannot come back to
the owner. Those may become stray pets. According to the
Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and
Cooperatives (Thailand) [2], there are more than 4 million
households that have a dog and nearly 2.5 million households
that have a cat in Thailand. Moreover, Bangkok has almost 1
million households that have either a cat or a dog or both of
them.
Fig. 1 shows the population of the stray dogs in Thailand. In
the year 2016, there were 758,446 stray dogs which increased
from the year 2014 by around five percent. Therefore, it is
apparent that the number of stray dogs has increased every
year from 2012 to 2016.
Fig. 1 The population of stray dogs in Thailand [2]

978–1–5386–5538–2/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE

 2018 15th International Joint Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (JCSSE)

Fig. 2 shows the population of the stray cats in Thailand.

In the year 2016, there were 474,142 stray cats in Thailand
which increased from the year 2012 by around thirty percent.

Fig. 3: Thai Rabies in each month and year [4]

D. Existing Applications
Fig. 2 The population of stray cats in Thailand [2]
In recent years, many developers have developed
Consequently, there are three techniques that can prevent applications to help pet owners to find and track their pets.
lost pets [3]. The first technique is using a collar with a Four notable applications including Daddy Pet [5], Tractive
tracking device. This technique can easily spot the locations so GPS [6], Pedigree Found [7] and Finding Rover [8] are
whenever those pets go somewhere else, pet owners can track summarized below.
and know the path that the pet takes. The second technique is
● Daddy Pet application is used for planning the
training the pet to have some fundamental knowledge and to
schedule, shop promotions and finding the nearest
understand some important commands. Teaching the
shop. This application does not include a device for
important commands and working on self-control with them
tracking so this application cannot know the exact
could really be useful in unpredictable situations. Moreover, it
place where the pet is located [5].
also benefits the relationship between pets and the owners.
● Tractive GPS application is used for tracking pets to
The last technique is that a resident has strong security in their
prevent lost pets by using the Tractive device, which
home and yard to prevent pets from escaping. Some pets,
is tracked by using GPS [6].
especially new pets, might try to escape from their residence
● Pedigree Found application is used for finding pets
to wander around communities, so having strong fences may
when lost and posting to the news feed in the
reduce chances for their pet to be runaways.
application. This application cannot track pets
B. Pet Tracking directly [7].
Pet tracking is location tracking to find the location and the ● Finding Rover application is developed by Finding
path that the pet is taking. Nowadays, there are many Rover Inc. This application can report the lost pets
technologies that can be used for tracking pets such as GPS, and know the location of the pets [8].
Bluetooth, Microchip implants, and Radio Frequency (RF).
Table I shows a comparison of functions of those existing
GPS is one of the most popular technologies because it can
applications with Bokk Meow.
track in a global range and locate the lost pet. Moreover, when
the pet is lost, pet tracking can help the users to track their pets TABLE I. COMPARISON OF EXISTING APPLICATIONS
in real time.
C. Diseases in Pet
Diseases in the pet are the diseases that affect the pets and
sometimes infect human. There are some common diseases
that pets usually can be infected with. One of the diseases that
is found in pets is rabies. In early 2018, Thai rabies net shows
the cases of Rabies in Thailand doubled from the amount of
cases in 2017 [4].
Therefore, for helping pets have a healthy life, people
should be aware that the diseases in pets depend on the health
of their pets and the taking care of by the pet owner.

From Table I, the applications that are available in

Thailand are Daddy Pet and Tractive GPS, while the other
applications are available in overseas countries. The Bokk
 2018 15th International Joint Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (JCSSE)
Meow application has the tracking and finding pets functions
to support users but other applications are not supported in
Thailand. Moreover, the Bokk Meow application provides
comprehensive functions including planner, pet shop and pet
veterinary hospital, pet information and news feed, while the
other applications do not.
E. Tracking Devices
In the market, there are many tracking devices as shown in
Table II. These devices such as Paw Track, TrackR, NEO6M
GPS and TabCat can connect with smartphones. Since the
devices are quite expensive, and some of the devices are not
available in Thailand, NEO6M was selected to make the
device for tracking pets. NEO6M is safe for the pet, global and
the cheapest device in the same category. NEO6M GPS and
Adafruit ultimate GPS Breakout must be used with either an
Arduino or a Raspberry PI device to make the GPS devices.
TABLE II. TRACKING DEVICES
F. Related Works
This section reviews the research literature related to
tracking pets [9][10][11].
Alper Bozkurt, et al. proposed a new generation of Cyber-
Enhanced Working Dog for search and rescue. CEWD is a
cyber-enabled, computer-mediated communication platform
that connects human and canine intelligence. CEWD could be
incorporated with other technologies to create intelligent
emergency response systems [9].
Zhengming Tang, et al. introduced PetTracker, a pet
tracking system using motes. A networked location aware pet
tracking and logging application is implemented using motes
and sensors [10].
Chakchai So-In, et al. presented mobile animal tracking
systems using light sensors for efficient power and cost saving
motion detection. Their work provides an open architecture for
animal tracking systems using an easy-to-access Arduino
board equipped with various sensors built into a compact
prototype, easily attached to an animal collar [11].
III. ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
Fig. 4 illustrates the Bokk Meow system architecture
which consists of three main actors. The first actor is the user
who uses the mobile device to connect with Bokk Meow. The
second actor is the administrator who has a responsibility for
views and maintains all information of the application. The
last actor is the pet with the tracking device, which connects to
the application to be used for tracking and finding lost pets.
Moreover, the user can take a photo of a lost pet and post the
information to Bokk Meow to help the pet owner to find their
pet. Firebase database is used to store the information on the
internet and enable the administrators to access the data.
Fig. 4 System Architecture of Bokk Meow
Fig. 5 System structure chart of the Bokk Meow System
Fig. 5 shows the system structure chart of Bokk Meow
which consists of eleven subsystems as follows:
1) Authentication - This module allows users to register
the account before using the application. It consists of
2 functions, which are Log in and Log out.
2) Manage user Information - This module is used to
manage user information. It consists of 3 functions,
which are Register, Edit user information, and View
user information.
3) Manage pet profile - This module is used to manage
the pet profile. It consists of 4 functions, which are
Add pet information, Edit pet information, Delete pet
information and View pet information.
4) Find and Track pet - This module is used to track and
find the pet. It consists of 2 functions, which are Get
pet position and Report lost pet.
5) Plan schedule - This module is used to plan the
schedule of the user’s pet. It consists of 4 functions,
which are Add plan schedule, Edit plan schedule,
Delete plan schedule and View plan schedule.
6) Post News Feed - This module is used to post the
information about the pet. It consists of 4 functions,
which are Add post, Edit post, Delete post and Take a
photo.
 2018 15th International Joint Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (JCSSE)

7) Search public place - This module is used to post the

information about the pet. It consists of 2 functions,
which are Get location and View location.
8) View pet care and pet information - This module is
used to view the pet care and pet information. It
consists of 4 functions, which are View breed
information, View care information, View training
information and View disease information.
9) Contact Us - This module is used to display the
administrator’s information to give convenience to
the user when they want to contact to the
administrator.
10) Tutorial - This module is used to display the tutorial Fig. 9 News Feed Fig. 10 My Profile Fig. 11 My Pet
for using the application to the users. After the user clicks the pet name in Fig. 11, the user can
11) Maintain information - This module is a part for the edit the pet profile (see Fig. 12). Then, two of the highlights in
administrators to maintain the application. It consists this application are the Tracking and Finding Pet pages (see
of 4 functions, which are Add information, Edit Fig. 13 and Fig. 14, respectively). In the tracking pet page,
information, Delete information and View users can know the location of their pets. In the finding pet
information. page, the user can announce their lost pet to the public
Newsfeed.
IV. USER INTERFACE
Some examples of the user interface of Bokk Meow are
displayed and briefly described below.
Fig.6 shows the welcome page, which is the first page
before the user proceeds to the login page (see Fig. 7). In case
that a user has not signed up yet, the user can sign up via the
sign-up page (see Fig.8) for creating the account before
logging in.

Fig.12 Edit Pet Profile Fig.13 Finding Pet Fig14 Tracking Pet

Bokk Meow also allows users to make the schedules for

their pets (see Fig. 15). Moreover, Bokk Meow provides the
information such as breed, care, training and diseases for dogs
and cats (see Fig. 16). Last but not least, Bokk Meow has a
function for finding the pet shops, clinics and veterinary
hospitals that are near to the user’s location.
Fig. 6 Welcome Fig. 7 Login Fig. 8 Signup

After the user creates the username and password, the user
can log into the application. Then the user sees the home page,
which is the News Feed (see Fig. 9). In this page, the user can
post anything about their pets such as posting the stray pet that
the users found for announcing to find the pet owner. Then,
the user can update their profile at any time by adding some
extra information (see Fig.10). Moreover, users can add their
pet profile and the pets that the user adds will be listed in Fig.
11.

Fig. 15 Planner Fig. 16 Pet Info Fig.17 Nearest Place

 2018 15th International Joint Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (JCSSE)
V. IMPLEMENTATION
In this project, several software tools were used for
implementation, which are the Ionic framework, Arduino,
Firebase, Visual studio code and Adobe Photoshop. The
programming languages used to implement the project are
JavaScript, C, HTML5 and CSS3. For creating the tracking
device, NodeMCU (see Fig.18) which includes ESP 8266 Wi-
Fi was used. This device is for receiving the GPS signal from
the NEO6M GPS Module and sending the data to the firebase.
Moreover, NEO6M GPS Module (see Fig. 19) was used to be
a GPS receiver. A receiver battery tray (see Fig. 20) with a
Lithium-Ion 18650 battery (see Fig. 21) was the Power supply
for the tracking device.
Fig. 18 NodeMCU Fig. 19 NEO6M GPS Module
Fig. 20 Receiver battery tray Fig. 21 Lithium-Ion 18650 battery
Fig. 22 shows the circuit diagram for making the Tracking
Pet Device. As can be seen from the circuit, it consists of four
components. All components connect to each other by using
pins. Moreover, the Node MCU link with coin cell batteries
was used for gaining power. The connection of each
component is shown in Table III and Table IV. Fig. 23 shows
the devices used for tracking pets.
Fig. 22 Circuit Diagram of Tracking Pet Device
TABLE III. PIN CONNECTION BETWEEN NODEMCU AND BATTERIES
Node MCU Batteries
V1A Anode (Red wire)
GND Cathode (Black Wire)
TABLE IV. PIN CONNECTION BETWEEN NODEMCU AND NEO 6M GPS
MODULE
Node MCU Neo 6M GPS Module
D1 RX
D2 TX
3V3 VCC
GND GND
Fig. 23 Tracking Devices
Fig. 24 shows the front side of the pet when the user puts
the devices on their pets. Fig. 25 shows the flank side of the
pet when the pet wears the pet collar with the tracking devices.
Fig. 24 Front side of the pet Fig. 25 Flank side of the pet
VI. EVALUATION AND RESULTS
The purpose of the evaluation is to survey the user
satisfaction of Bokk Meow. For the system satisfaction test,
the researcher team asked participants who have pets to test
Bokk Meow, who ranged in age. Before taking the survey, the
researcher team demonstrated the application for the user to
easily understand. Then, the user tested the application for
approximately 10 minutes before answering the questionnaire
in Google Forms to let the user give comments and feedback
about Bokk Meow.
The questions in the questionnaire were divided into two
sections. The first section was the personal information that
asked general information of the users which are the range of
age, gender and types of pet. The second section is the
satisfaction of the user after testing Bokk Meow. In this
section, there were five questions asking about the
participant’s satisfaction of Bokk Meow, User Interface,
Design, Pet owner comfortabilities, Find the nearest place, and
the tracking device. The user can rate the evaluation as poor,
average or good.
In this user satisfaction survey, there were 30 participants
who are pet owners. In Fig. 26, there are 22 participants (or
 2018 15th International Joint Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (JCSSE)

73.3 %) who thought that Bokk Meow was easy to use. 26
participants (or 86.7%) thought that this application was
beneficial for the pet owner. 22 participants (or 73.3 %)
agreed that the tracking device had good accuracy. 17
participants (or 56%) thought that in Bokk Meow it was easy
to find the nearest pet shops and veterinary hospitals. 18
participants (or 60%) agreed that the user interface and design
were good.
Fig. 26 Bokk Meow Survey
From the user interviews, the participants stated that the
application was useful for the pet owner to prevent lost pets.
Moreover, if the user wanted to find out the essential
information, the user could find the information via this
application as well. However, some of the participants were
concerned that the device was too large for the pet so that they
suggested that it would be better if the new tracking device
was smaller.
VII. CONCLUSION
In this project, we introduced Bokk Meow, a mobile
application for pet owners to find and track their pets by using
a tracking pet collar to track the pet location. Moreover, the
application has an alternative way for pet owners to find their
pet by reporting lost pets on a news feed so that the
community will help them find their pets. However, it depends
on the number of users participating in this Bokk Meow. The
more users, the chances of finding lost pets will be higher. For
the problems and limitations of this project, the tracking
device requires Wi-Fi for making the connection and cannot
track in the building or high-density building areas. In the
future, Bokk Meow can be further developed by reducing the
size of the tracking device to be smaller than the current
device and be able to track pets in buildings.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7E7iFEFocNjOUxrZ0VQUnVILUE/v
iew
[3] Fairytailpet, 5 Tips to Prevent Your Pet from Getting Lost, [Accessed
date: 16 September, 2017], Available from:
http://fairytailpet.com/2017/5/9/5-tips-for-preventing-your-animal-from-
getting-lost
[4] Thai Rabies Net, Rabies situation in Thailand, [Accessed Date: 16
March 2018], Available from:
http://www.thairabies.net/trn/Default_Main.aspx
[5] Daddy Pet Application, [Accessed Date: 28 September 2017], Available
from: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.o2commerce.d
addypetpartner&hl=en
[6] Tractive, 2012-2017, [Accessed Date: 28 September 2017], Available
from: https://www.tractive.com/en/
[7] Pedigree Found, [Accessed Date: 28 September 2017], Available
from: http://www.pedigree.co.nz/found
[8] Finding Rover, [Accessed Date: Sep 28, 2017], Available
from: http://www.findingrover.com/
[9] Alper Bozkurt, David L. Roberts, Barbara L. Sherman, Rita Brugarolas,
Sean Mealin, John Majikes, Pu Yang, and Robert Tyler Loftin, “Toward
Cyber-Enhanced Working Dogs for Search and Rescue”, IEEE
Intelligent Systems, Volume: 29, Issue: 6, Nov.-Dec. 2014, pp. 32 – 39.
[10] Zhengming Tang, Harlan Hile, Sushil Bajracharya, and Raja Jurdak,
“PetTracker - Pet Tracking System Using Motes”, [Accessed Date: 23
March 2018], Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Raja_Jurdak/publication/23736876
0_PetTracker_-
_Pet_Tracking_System_Using_Motes/links/0c960533b3df81951a00000
0/PetTracker-Pet-Tracking-System-Using-
Motes.pdf?origin=publication_detail
[11] Chakchai So-In, Comdet Phaudphut, Smarn Tesana, Nutnicha
Weeramongkonlert, Kasidit Wijitsopon, Urachart KoKaew, Boonsup
Waikham and Saiyan Saiyod, “Toward Mobile Animal Tracking
Systems Using Light Sensor for Efficient Power and Cost Saving
Motion Detection”, Proceedings of the 2012 8th International
Symposium on Communication Systems, Networks & Digital Signal
Processing (CSNDSP), Poznan, Poland, 18-20 July 2012.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research project was partially supported by Faculty of
Information and Communication Technology, Mahidol
University and National Software Contest 2018.

REFERENCES
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