User:Umarabbas890/sandbox

Device That Lets Animals "Talk" To Humans Soon Be A Reality
'''Most pet owners would admit to talking to their animals, but few can say that their furry friends talk back. In the future, however, conversations with our pets may become much more complex: Scientists are currently working to develop technology that allows animals to “talk” to humans. And while animals with the ability to speak may seem like the culmination of every fairy-tale fantasy you’ve ever had, technology-enhanced animal-human communication could serve a variety of practical purposes — some of which could even save lives.'''

Background
'''Scientists are studying some of the many ways that modern technology, from GPS to wireless communication, could be used to help animals “speak” to us. You might be thinking, “But animals already communicate with us!” That’s absolutely true. Through body language and sound, animals convey information about how they feel and what they want. Service animals are trained to communicate with their handlers in sophisticated ways and perform a huge variety of tasks, from sniffing out explosives to detecting oncoming hypoglycemia. But their ability to communicate with us is limited, and sometimes humans miss out on important knowledge that animals have, simply because there isn’t a way to pass it on.'''

How It Works….

 * There are two types of communication technologies.”  Dr. Alper Bozkurt”
 * “One that allows us to communicate with the dogs, and one that allows them to communicate with us.”
 * “Dogs communicate primarily through body language, and one of our challenges was to develop sensors that tell us about their behavior by observing their posture remotely,” Roberts says. “So we can determine when they’re sitting, standing, running, etc., even when they’re out of sight – a harness-mounted computer the size of a deck of cards transmits those data wirelessly.
 * “Dogs communicate primarily through body language, and one of our challenges was to develop sensors that tell us about their behavior by observing their posture remotely,” Roberts says. “So we can determine when they’re sitting, standing, running, etc., even when they’re out of sight – a harness-mounted computer the size of a deck of cards transmits those data wirelessly.

Technologies

 * The technology also includes physiological sensors that monitor things like heart rate and body temperature. The sensors not only track a dog’s physical well-being, but can offer information on a dog’s emotional state, such as whether it is excited or stressed.
 * These technologies form the core of the platform, but it can be customized with additional devices depending on the specific application.

Useful for….

 * addressing stress in working dogs, such as guide dogs for the blind.


 * This can help handlers identify and mitigate stress for the dogs, improving the length and quality of a dog’s life.
 * This platform is an amazing tool, and we’re excited about using it to improve the bond between dogs and their humans.

Reference

 * Towards Cyber-Enhanced Working Dogs for Search and Rescue
 * W. Konrad, "An Aide for the Disabled a Companion and Nice and Furry", New York Times, Aug. 2009, [online] Available: www.nytimes.com/2009/08/22/health/22patient.html.
 * B. Hansen et al., "Evaluation of an Accelerometer for At-Home Monitoring of Spontaneous Activity in Dogs", Am. J. Veterinary Research, vol. 68, no. 5, pp. 468-475, 2007.
 *  M. Moore Jackson et al., "FIDO Facilitating Interactions for Dogs with Occupations: Wearable Dog-Activated Interfaces", Proc. Int'l Symp. Wearable Interfaces, pp. 81-88, 2013.