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

Tue Jul 30 12:18:48 UTC 2013

I'm with Minh and Julie M.  My dog has plenty to do without telling me about 
every obstacle he's walked around.  If I wanted all that info, I'd use a 
cane.
The only thing Ben would need to say is "Listen to me, stupid human!"
Tracy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Julie McGinnity" <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, July 29, 2013 8:03 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Computerized Vest Helps Dogs TalkFW: [Gduf-l] 
Computerized vest help dogs to talk

> Let's take it even further...  Someone pets my dog, and the voice says
> something like "You aren't supposed to pet me...  Five seconds until I
> bite."  Of course, then the vest would have to distinguish between the
> handeler petting and strangers, but I can dream.
>
> I have to agree with Min here.  I don't want to walk around campus
> hearing "tree" "car" or "person!"  That would be too much.
>
> On 7/29/13, minh ha <minh.ha927 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 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
>>
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>
>
> -- 
> Julie McG
> National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
> Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
> Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
> and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
> "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
> everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
> life."
> John 3:16
>
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