[nagdu] Computerized Vest Helps Dogs TalkFW: [Gduf-l] Computerized vest help dogs to talk

[Cindy Ray]

I've been thinking about this idea for years and years; maybe it's time has at last come!

CL

On Jul 29, 2013, at 10:47 AM, Tami Jarvis <tami at poodlemutt.com> wrote:

> Cindy,
> 
> Oh, let's program it to do that! /lol/ I'm glad somebody else goes instantly to the, er, more creative uses for such a tool. /grin/
> 
> If I let Mitzi do her own programming and choose what the vest should say to me, I'm pretty sure none of it would be flattering. There would be a flip off in there somewhere.
> 
> I also can't help wondering if we would finally find out the truth. Can dogs lie, after all? /lol/
> 
> It is kinda fun to think about how to train the dog to use the vest meaningfully. I have a glimmer of how training would go up to a certain point using clicker training... But then I wonder. So I train the dog to respond to a tree by pressing the button for tree. So far so good. Then I go for a nice shady walk.... Will I be hearing "Tree! Tree! Tree!" every other step? How annoying would that be? /lol/
> 
> It is an interesting concept, and I can think of scenarios where added feedback about what stuff is would be truly useful. But mostly I want to get one to play with it and my dog and see what happens. /lol/
> 
> Tami
> 
> On 07/29/2013 04:11 AM, Cindy Ray wrote:
>> I want one of these, and when people say, "Hi, Doggie!" or "Hello, puppy!" I want the dog to say, "Well, hello." I've always thought something like that would be so fun because it would totally freak out the person who spoke to the dog. Yes?
>> 
>> CL
>> 
>> On Jul 29, 2013, at 5:38 AM, "Steven Johnson" <blinddog3 at charter.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> Computerized Vest Helps Dogs Talk
>>> 
>>> Imagine you are working your guide dog and it stops, telling you the path
>>> before you is blocked. If you are a blind handler, you will know the dog
>>> won't go forward even if you tell it to because it uses intelligent
>>> disobedience to avoid the obstacle. Even as you trust your dog and proceed
>>> to go around the obstacle, you may not know what is in front of you blocking
>>> the way. Instead of being led around the unknown obstacle, and perhaps not
>>> ever realizing what it could be, you are told by the dog via a computerized
>>> voice or text that it is wet cement. Pretty cool, huh?
>>> 
>>> Say hello to a computerized prototype vest for dogs named "Facilitating
>>> Interactions for Dogs with Occupations", a.k.a. FIDO that is meant to help
>>> handlers communicate with their service dogs. According to recent news
>>> articles, the device looks like a typical service dog vest that hugs the
>>> canine's shoulders and back, fastening under the dog's belly. The FIDO model
>>> has a compact computer with a microprocessor that sits between the dog's
>>> shoulder blades with several distinctly shaped items which can be pulled or
>>> pushed by the dog. Dogs can alert the handler to things like a tornado siren
>>> or alarm, alerting the handler to the danger or obstacle with just a tug on
>>> a string or push of the nose on a button.
>>> 
>>> Researchers at Georgia Tech are working on the prototype vest to do the very
>>> thing described above and much more. Since dogs can understand about 700
>>> words to convey what they see, smell or hear around them, fine tuning the
>>> technology that enables us and the dog to communicate better is only a tail
>>> wag away from becoming a reality.
>>> 
>>> This is all possible with a mini computer and a receiver, like Google glass
>>> or an ear bud to either hear or see the information the dog chooses to
>>> convey. For instance, the dog can tug on a toy that represents the
>>> information, like stairs or a curb, which is sent via a microcomputer to the
>>> handler.
>>> 
>>> The alert system will depend on the dog owner's needs, though researchers
>>> are still fine-tuning exactly how the owner will be alerted to what the dog
>>> sees, hears, or smells. Potentially any dog that works with its handler will
>>> be able to utilize the vest. This is especially encouraging for explosive
>>> detection and search and rescue dogs as well as dogs teamed up with people
>>> with disabilities.
>>> 
>>> The funding for this research is being paid for by a recent grant from
>>> Google Glass team to the Georgia Institute of Technology.
>>> 
>>> Professor Melody Jackson from the Georgia Institute of Technology came up
>>> with this idea after discovering that one of her students worked with a
>>> guide dog and wanted a better way to find out about the obstacles the dog
>>> avoided.
>>> 
>>> To read the article, go to:
>>> 
>>> http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Responsible-Tech/2013/0716/FIDO-How-a-co
>>> mputer-vest-can-help-dogs-talk
>>> 
>>> Or, go here: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2421792,00.asp
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> 
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> 
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