A Method to Evaluate Haptic Interfaces for Working Dogs

In 2017, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology developed a new method to evaluate the effectiveness of haptic technology systems for animals. Haptic technology uses a harness or other wearable that communicates vibrational signals to an animal, and it is increasingly used as a method to mediate communication between animals and humans. However, it is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of haptic systems because of animals’ inability to self-report. In this method, dogs are trained to complete a “reporting behaviour,” which involves touching a pre-identified target only when the haptic cues were given. By removing other possible verbal or physical cues, this method enables owners to confirm that the dogs are responding to the haptic sensations being felt via their harness. This evaluation method can be used to test the effectiveness of future innovative haptic technology.

Byrne, Ceara, Larry Freil, Thad Starner, and Melody Moore Jackson. “A method to evaluate haptic interfaces for working dogs.

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Data, Ecological Modelling, Internet of Things, Lifestyle, Monitoring