Competition is stiff between treats, toys, walks and belly rubs for the coveted title of your dog’s favorite thing. Furbo has been around since 2016, but the treat-launching dog camera has never been more popular after pet owners started returning to work on the other side of COVID. Now, thanks to the latest Furbo 360° Dog Camera's two-way audio and HD camera with night-vision, your pup is always only a few taps away on your phone. And whether or not you’re not at work, tried-and-true treat dispensers like the KONG deliver hours of play in the form of an incredibly durable chew toy. But what makes these two canine staples so innovative and indispensable to your furry friend?
We used our Neptune industrial X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) scanner to uncover what makes the Furbo tick. We also compared the KONG to the automotive part that provided its unlikely inspiration.
Furbo non-destructive teardown
The Furbo makes the most of its interior real estate, efficiently balancing the electronics required to power its compact audio-visual setup with the spatial requirements of a mechanical treat-launching apparatus. Behind the camera cover, we find a PCB for the camera and microphone assembly, set at an angle to match the placement of the camera lens that externally fits into the Furbo’s smooth-walled hourglass shape.
The main PCB takes up much more space, and we see where it connects to each of three DC motors that reveal a completely new internal layout for this Furbo model. They’ve replaced a jam-prone spring-loaded launcher with two DC motors: one to turn a pinwheel and load the treat-launcher and another to fire the treat.
The third motor rotates the Furbo’s base, providing the camera with a 360° view—the primary selling-point of the latest model that allows you to find your pet even if it’s not in Furbo’s immediate line of sight. Though this motor is at the bottom of the device, it doesn’t connect to the PCB just below it. This one is where the USB-C charging port is docked, and we also find that the speaker is in fact nestled down here, rather than at the top with the rest of the electronics. There’s a plastic mesh in front of it so the sound of your voice can reach your dog’s ears, but it’s hidden out of sight on the Furbo’s lower edge.
From car part to dog toy
But when you’re not away firing treats at your dog from your iPhone, you might find yourself filling up the bouncy red KONG toy with your pet’s favorite snacks. This beloved chew toy has an unlikely origin story that explains its unforgettable bulbous shape.
Joe Markham, an auto shop owner in Denver, was inspired after his dog Fritz became obsessed with chewing a durable rubber bump stop from a 1960 Volkswagen Type 2 Bus. Seeing the tough rubber withstand Fritz’s aggressive chewing without damaging his teeth, Markham spent six years refining the material, size, and shape to develop a toy that could hold treats and bounce unpredictably. By 1976, Markham had perfected and began selling the KONG dog toy, which quickly caught on with dog owners worldwide.
A bump stop acts as a cushion, absorbing impacts when a vehicle travels over rough terrain, limiting excessive suspension compression and preventing damage. Our scans show the internal chambers, hollowed and tapered at each curve in the rubber so it gives under pressure. The KONG’s overall shape is less tapered, with a rounded top to enhance its bounce. The KONG’s internal chambers are larger and more cylindrical, providing plenty of telescopic room for treats.
Some quick measurements with Voyager’s dimensioning tools reveal that the bump stop’s internal chambers are not concentric with the outer rubber, resulting in a lack of uniformity in wall thickness. In some places, different sides of the same slice of the wall can vary by almost 3 mm. This could potentially cause the bump stop to not compress properly, but it may also not be a significant issue to its function. Either way, the KONG has no such problem. It’s not perfect either, but it deviates by 1/10th as much—within about 0.3 mm. We can also see that the density of the rubber in the bump stop is not of a uniform density (the yellow flecks within the red), compared to the KONG's consistency.
Explore the KONG scan Explore the Bump Stop scan
Precision treat engineering
Both Furbo and KONG provide prime examples of innovative design born of pet parents’ desire to make their dogs happy. Whether the differences between the KONG and the bump stop demonstrate advancements in manufacturing technology over the past 60+ years or just that the KONG is a better-made product, together they speak to how inspiration can come from the unlikeliest places. With industrial CT, we can discover the hidden precision behind every element of these dog toys that makes treat delivery look easy.
Want to learn more? Read about why non-destructive teardowns like this one offer the richest insights into physical products.
