(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-11)
Valentin, Giancarlo; Alcaidinho, Joelle; Howard, Ayanna M.; Jackson, Melody Moore; Starner, Thad
We explored symbolic canine-human communication for working
dogs through the use of canine head gestures. We identified
a set of seven criteria for selecting head gestures and identified
the first four deserving further experimentation. We devised
computationally inexpensive mechanisms to prototype the live
system from a motion sensor on the dog’s collar. Each detected
gesture is paired with a predetermined message that is voiced
to the humans by a smart phone. We examined the system
and proposed gestures in two experiments, one indoors and
one outdoors. Experiment A examined both gesture detection
accuracy and a dog’s ability to perform the gestures using a
predetermined routine of cues. Experiment B examined the
accuracy of this system on two outdoor working-dog scenarios.
The detection mechanism we presented is sufficient to
point to improvements into system design and provide valuable
insights into which gestures fulfill the seven minimum
criteria.
Working dogs have improved the lives of thousands of people.
However, communication between human and canine partners is currently
limited. The main goal of the FIDO project is to research fundamental
aspects of wearable technologies to support communication between working
dogs and their handlers. In this pilot study, the FIDO team investigated
on-body interfaces for assistance dogs in the form of wearable technology
integrated into assistance dog vests. We created four different sensors that
dogs could activate (based on biting, tugging, and nose gestures) and tested
them on-body with three assistance-trained dogs. We were able to demonstrate
that it is possible to create wearable sensors that dogs can reliably
activate on command.