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

[minh ha]

It sounds like a cool piece of technology, but it's just going to be
another piece of equipment that we have to carry around that
distinguishes us from the rest of the world. Furthermore, it's not
really practical; I don't want to be walking down the street and
having this voice announce to me what's in front of me every ten feet
or so. After all, we were taught techniques during training so we can
identify what is in front of us. If the dog stops, just reach out and
you'll find out what's blocking your way. ...

On 7/29/13, Star Gazer <pickrellrebecca at gmail.com> wrote:
> This reminds me of that book, I think called Congo where the monkey could
> use sign language. The movie version had her using a computer. Very
> interesting and a bit disturbing.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tami Jarvis
> Sent: Monday, July 29, 2013 11:47 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Computerized Vest Helps Dogs TalkFW: [Gduf-l]
> Computerized vest help dogs to talk
>
> 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-H
>>> ow-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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-- 
"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on
their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence