University of Glasgow researcher has developed a device that will enable dogs to communicate with their owners over long distances. Dr. Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, an animal-machine interface specialist at the university’s School of Computing Science, has been inventing devices for her 10-year-old Labrador retriever for some time.
Her primary focus is on devices that “give dogs choices or options to do things for the sake of enrichment” Hirskyj-Douglas teamed with colleagues at Finland’s Aalto University to create the DogPhone, a device for communicating with dogs. Thanks to this device, video calling is now available for dogs.
While dogs have been trained to respond to phone calls, no one knows how they would respond to video conversations if given control,” Hirskyj-Douglas says in a university-produced film.
To determine what a dog would do if they were able to manage video and the internet independently, this apparatus was designed to turn it over.
According to her, the pet market currently offers a wide choice of video-calling equipment. “However, your dog truly has no control over it,” she continued.
The DogPhone resembles a ball with an accelerometer embedded in it
When a dog picks up and shakes the accelerometer, a video call is initiated on the house PC. This manner, he may observe and interact with his owner at his leisure. On the phone, the dog can either accept or decline the call, depending on the owner’s preference.
“We used it for several weeks and gave it to him whenever he was left home alone for a long time,” Hirskyj-Douglas explained of his DogPhone testing on his pet.
She says she was concerned when he didn’t call, despite the fact that it was first exhilarating. However, she assumed that her dog saw the situation differently.
He was initially perplexed, but soon declared himself “totally okay” with it
“I think this experience really showed me that we can really create a very different technology for animals,” Hirskyj-Douglas observed. Animals can use technology. They hold the technology. In terms of the future of dog technology, we really need to rethink our strategy.”
According to the article, this “explores the creation of a video calling device that allows a dog to remotely call its human, giving the animal control and agency over the technology in its home.”
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