A local college professor, with the assistance of two of his former students, has come up with a unique way to help you find your lost cat.
Jeff Will, a Valparaiso University professor of electrical and computer engineering, has developed a feline-friendly iPhone application. Here Kitty, Kitty! now is available on iTunes for 99 cents.
He developed the app for all iOS devices (including the new iPad) as a fun way for users to manage their cats with familiar sounds that will bring the feline around when they don't come when called. It features the sounds of a cat meowing, a man calling a cat and an electric can opener readying a feline feast.
Will also felt it was a way to embark on new technological territory -- that it was a cool idea and neat to see "how everything works."
"I really get excited about learning new things, and that's what I like the most," Will said. "I'm not in it to make money or anything."
Will believes it's important for professional colleges to have professors up-to-date on current technology.
"We realize in electrical and computer engineering that mobile devices and mobile apps are a huge thing," he said. "We not only want to be current ourselves, but we want to be on the leading edge so we can bring this state-of-the-art technology and education to our students."
Will always has been intrigued by and has written software programs but has seen the trend shift to app development.
"An app is really just a very simple, straightforward, one utility-type of a program," he said. "It does a specific one-time function. This (Here Kitty, Kitty!) wouldn't really be a piece of software you would write."
The process of getting a developed app into the iTunes store includes an analysis and approval by Apple, and Will said the Kitty app never would have happened if not for Cameron Banga and Mike Phelps, two former students who are experienced app developers.
The recent VU grads are co-founders of 9magnets, an app development and markeing firm, and they have developed several applications in the past year. Their first one was developed last summer with VU student Jeff Lange. Battery Go!, which measures iPhone battery power to the minute, received national attention and was highly ranked on a list of overall paid applications.
"9magnets, as a service, is really interesting," Will said. "You learn how to submit something to the app store. I didn't know about the certificates, how to promote it -- you need a facilitator.
"I would never have been able to do this without them -- a company that knows apps and knows the app store. I write the program and give it to them."
If Here Kitty, Kitty! becomes popular, Will has several ideas to expand upon the app, including adding customizable sounds and a website where visitors can list their favorite sounds and provide feedback.
