Experiments on a "phone" for dogs

A device developed by the University of Glasgow and still in the process of trial may be a way to prevent dogs left at home from feeling lonely, as it enables them to video call and interact with their owners from a distance.

Dubbed "Dog Phone", the invention behind the animal-computer interaction specialist at the University of Glasgow in Scotland is Elena Hersky Douglas.

The researcher seeks to improve the lives of animals through technology, with the help of Zack, a 10-year-old black Labrador, and colleagues from Aalto University in Finland.

The University of Glasgow said in a statement on Wednesday that it is "the first system of its kind that allows animals to use the Internet to communicate with their owners."

The inventors of "Doug Von", which is still being tested, hope that it will contribute to alleviating separation anxiety in a large number of dogs that were adopted during the pandemic, as they are accustomed to the permanent presence of humans around them during the quarantine period, but they have remained alone in homes since the return of their owners. to their offices.

This system is a ball with an accelerometer that, once the dog shakes it, launches a video call to its owner via a laptop connected to this device.

The person concerned can also call his animal, who can choose to ignore or answer the call.

After Elena's "helper" dog, Zach, learned in the lab how to use the ball, it was given to him for 16 days spread over three months.

The university's statement explained that the dog, despite making some calls by mistake, would use the prototype of the device to contact its research owner and show her during the call the games that they often play together, "which indicates that it wants to interact with its owner."

When Elena Hersky Douglas was showing him her workplace, a restaurant, or even someone playing music on the street, the pet's ears were erect and it approached the screen.

"We can't of course be sure that Zack is aware of a causal relationship between picking up the ball and making a call, or even that some of his interactions are really as accidental as they seem," the researcher said.

But she added, "He was clearly really interested in what he was seeing in some cases, and that some of the behaviors he shows are the same when we are together physically."

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