(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.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-10)
Valentin, Giancarlo; Freil, Larry; Alcaidinho, Joelle; Zuerndorfer, Jay; Mason, Celeste; Jackson, Melody Moore
We present a study of a wearable alert system for mobility-assistance dogs.
Our focus in this study is on assessing sensor and dog activation reliability for the purpose of understanding both system and dog training
challenges. We improve on the results from previous work in each of four performance metrics and we present solutions to some practical issues necessary for achieving more reliable and consistent experimental results. We also interviewed active service dog users concerning technical, social and canine considerations, the results of which may inform future studies.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015-09)
Valentin, Giancarlo; Alcaidinho, Joelle; Jackson, Melody Moore
We present two case studies on creating wearables for dogs and
discuss them in terms of challenges of safety, space, weight and comfort,
that motivated them. You can use these case studies and our design process as a practical primer for designing wearables for working dogs.