Dogs go solo with sensor-activated vests
A new sensor-activated vest for dogs, which would let people at remote locations guide the canines via computer, has implications in battlefields, in airport security and even for the visually impaired.
I spoke last week with David Bevly, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Auburn University, about the role of autonomous canines.
Why is this technology needed? Is it primarily meant to keep humans out of danger zones?
It's a combination of things. That's certainly one possibility. Another possibility is just to allow one handler to be able to be in charge of multiple canines. If they're autonomous, you can have one person watching half a dozen or a dozen canines. There are also times when the human impedes the canine. It may not be necessarily danger, but in terms of speed and traversability.
What technology does the custom harness use and how does it work?
It consists of a variety of things. There are tone and vibration generators on the canine. Different tones mean different things to the canine and different vibrations also mean different things. The sensor pack allows us to measure the canine's motion and also where the canine is located. It's a GPS. We have a micro-controller that takes in all of the information -- desired location, current location, current sensor reading -- and automatically generates commands to the canine via those tones and vibrations to guide the canine to a desired location.
In what types of situations do you expect this to be used?
We're really just looking at what's possible and not necessarily what all the applications may be, but there are tons of them. You could have autonomous search-and-rescue missions. You could have autonomous border patrol by having the canine walk in certain routes. You could certainly have them walking roads looking for explosives. You could have them also for those that are visually impaired, although generally you want the canine attached to the visually-impaired person in that scenario. Airport security [is another example]. If [the canine] is indoors then we use a different sensor to determine location because GPS doesn't work indoors.
How did you come to do this work and why is it important to you?
In the academic world, we work on what we can get money to work on. Generally, I work in the area of autonomous guidance and control algorithms, so it's applying that to a unique and interesting vehicle. It's one that doesn't always perform how you want, but it also has some of its own smarts that you're trying to take advantage of. It offers a unique opportunity.
How are you continuing to develop the technology?
We're looking to try to get longer range. We'd like to increase the autonomy and be able to have the canine go even further distances without having a human around.
Photo, top: Major the dog wearing the sensor pack / Courtesy of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University
Photo, bottom: David Bevly / Courtesy of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com