Method and systems for evaluating pet food

A system comprising:

• a noncontact thermal measurement device;
• a pet food receptacle configured to hold pet food, wherein, based on a particular body portion of a companion animal from which noncontact thermal measurements are to be taken for use in evaluating a preference of the companion animal associated with the pet food, the noncontact thermal measurement device is positioned at a particular location and a particular angle relative to the pet food receptacle to cause the noncontact thermal measurement device to take one or more noncontact thermal measurements from the particular body portion of the companion animal as the companion animal interacts with the pet food;
• a display device;
• at least one memory storing instructions;
• and
• at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to cause the system to:
• receive, from the noncontact thermal measurement device, a plurality of first noncontact thermal measurements captured by the noncontact thermal measurement device as the companion animal is having a first food interaction with a first pet food held by the pet food receptacle, the plurality of first noncontact thermal measurements including one or more first pre-feeding measurements, one or more first feeding measurements, and one or more first post-feeding measurements, wherein the first food interaction is occurring at a first time in association with a plurality of first environmental variables;
• receive, from the noncontact thermal measurement device, a plurality of second noncontact thermal measurements captured by the noncontact thermal measurement device as the companion animal is having a second food interaction with a second pet food, different from the first pet food, held by the pet food receptacle, the plurality of second noncontact thermal measurements including one or more second pre-feeding measurements, one or more second feeding measurements, and one or more second post-feeding measurements, wherein the second food interaction is occurring at a second time in association with a plurality of second environmental variables, wherein the plurality of first environmental variables and the plurality of second environmental variables include one or more of:
• a room in which the first food interaction or the second food interaction is occurring, a familiarity of the companion animal with an administrator of the first food interaction or the second food interaction, an arrangement and contents of the room, or conditions of the room associated with visual or auditory stimuli perceivable by the companion animal, and wherein at least one second environmental variable of the plurality of second environmental variables is different from the plurality of first environmental variables and is capable of impacting a state of the companion animal that affects noncontact thermal measurement values;
• compare the one or more first feeding measurements and the one or more second feeding measurements to determine a difference, wherein, to minimize effects of the at least one second environmental variable, the one or more first pre-feeding and post-feeding measurements and the one or more second pre-feeding and post-feeding measurements are further analyzed to determine the difference;
• determine a preference for one of the first pet food or the second pet food based on the difference, and
• generate and provide, to the display device, indicia of the preference for the one of the first pet food or the second pet food for display on the display device.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a computer system to identify which one of at least two pet foods is preferred by a companion animal by:

• receiving a first input and a second input from a noncontact thermal measurement device operatively disposed relative to a pet food receptacle as the pet food receptacle is holding a first pet food and a second pet food of the at least two pet foods, respectively, wherein:
• based on a particular body portion of a companion animal from which noncontact thermal measurements are to be taken for use in evaluating the companion animal's preference for either the first pet food or the second pet food, the noncontact thermal measurement device is operatively disposed at a particular location and a particular angle relative to the pet food receptacle to cause the noncontact thermal measurement device to take a plurality of first noncontact thermal measurements comprising the first input from the particular body portion of the companion animal as the companion animal is having a first food interaction with the first pet food held by the pet food receptacle, and take a plurality of second noncontact thermal measurements comprising the second input from the particular body portion of the companion animal as the companion animal is having a second food interaction with the second pet food held by the pet food receptacle,
• the plurality of first noncontact thermal measurements comprising the first input include one or more first pre-feeding measurements, one or more first feeding measurements, and one or more first post-feeding measurements, wherein the first food interaction is occurring at a first time in association with a plurality of first environmental variables, and
• the plurality of second noncontact thermal measurements comprising the second input include one or more second pre-feeding measurements, one or more second feeding measurements, and one or more second post-feeding measurements, wherein the second food interaction is occurring at a second time in association with a plurality of second environmental variables, wherein the plurality of first environmental variables and the plurality of second environmental variables include one or more of:
• a room in which the first food interaction or the second food interaction is occurring, a familiarity of the companion animal with an administrator of the first food interaction or the second food interaction, an arrangement and contents of the room, or conditions of the room associated with visual or auditory stimuli perceivable by the companion animal, and wherein at least one second environmental variable of the plurality of second environmental variables is different from the plurality of first environmental variables and is capable of impacting a state of the companion animal that affects noncontact thermal measurement values;
• comparing the one or more first feeding measurements from the first input and the one or more second feeding measurements from the second input to determine a difference, wherein, to minimize effects of the at least one second environmental variable, the one or more first pre-feeding and post-feeding measurements and the one or more second pre-feeding and post-feeding measurements are further analyzed to determine the difference;
• generating, as an output based on the difference, a pet food preference of the companion animal;
• generating a customized recommendation based on the output for an ongoing dietary regimen for the companion animal;
• and
• generating and providing, to a display device associated with the computer system, indicia of the pet food preference and a customized recommendation for display on the display device.