Tag Archives: detection dogs

Canine remote control?

Posted on September 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

Just how far will technology take us in interacting with dogs?

Jeff Miller and David Bevly of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, have devised a system to issue cues by remote control. They’ve published their results in an issue of the International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control which is due out soon.

Their system provides guidance to the dog using an embedded command module with vibration and tone generation capabilities. Tests in a structured and non-structured environment show obedience accuracy up to almost 98%.

The system is designed with serious uses in mind – it’s not being designed for the lazy dog owner who doesn’t want to spend time or interact with their dog.

The team has demonstrated that a search & rescue or other working dog can be trained to respond “virtually flawlessly” to remote control tones and vibrations as if they were immediate commands from a human handler.

A detector dog in action

Directing detection dogs in areas where human handlers cannot access is one such serious application of the technology.

Source: EurekAlert! press release

Training dogs for bomb detection

Posted on August 2, 2013 | 2 comments

Unfortunately, we live in a world where people still build bombs to kill and maim. Dogs have traditionally been trained to detect explosive devices by learning to detect specific odours and then to signal their handler.

A detection dog in action

The process of training a bomb detection dog is slow because the dog is trained to identify each scent individually. In countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, homemade devices are made using mixtures of explosives.

With a grant from the Office of Naval Research, researchers at the University of Lincoln (UK) will investigate whether explosive detection dogs are capable of learning by categorisation, a cognitive process that is thought to play a major role in the way humans and animals naturally process new information.

The study will explore whether dogs can be trained to recognise the significance of a group of odours, rather than having to learn each scent individually.

Researcher Helen Zulch says, “In this study we will be testing whether a dog can be taught a general rule for a group of odours and then apply that knowledge to a new situation, involving scents it has never encountered. We know dogs can categorise visual stimuli, so the aim of this study is to find out whether dogs are able to categorise odours in a similar manner.”

If successful, the research will underpin new training approaches that will accelerate the process of training detector dogs.

Source: University of Lincoln media release

2 Comments

Posted in research

Tagged Afghanistan, bomb detection, cognition, detection dogs, Iraq, training, University of Lincoln

Announcing the National Fire Dog Monument

Posted on June 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

The winning design features a firefighter looking upon his detection dog, who is ready for duty

The non-profit organisation National Fire Dog Monument has been successful in its fundraising to build a monument to Certified Accelerant Detection Dogs. The bronze statue is entitled “From Ashes to Answers” and will be permanently displayed in front of a fire station in Washington, DC.

The inspiration for the dog in the sculpture is Erin, Colorado’s first arson dog who died from cancer.

As the statue is transported to its final home, there will be a roadshow from June 21 to 28, 2012 stopping in 12 cities starting in Denver, Colorado and ending in Washington, with other stops in Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. The full schedule of stops can be found here.

Arson dogs are trained to detect hydrocarbons and other accelerants that are used to deliberately light fires. The use of dogs in this service is yet another way that working dogs are used to benefit communities and the new monument is a fitting tribute to their contribution.