If you’ve ever tried to train a dog, you know how tiresome it can be. Those who train and handle canines for a living have worked the process down to a science, but that doesn’t mean the undertaking isn’t sometimes grueling. Dogs are intelligent creatures, and they’ve evolved obedience toward humans. But they’re still dogs, and they still sometimes lose focus and become hard to train.
Researchers at Auburn University were interested in dogs as smart but often difficult animals to instruct. They designed a device that straps on a dog and allows trainers and handlers the ability to signal the animal using a remote control. The harness the dog sports contains the following gadgets:
- Global positioning system sensors
- A central processing unit
- A wireless modem to connect the computer to the remote
- Vibrating mechanisms on the dog’s sides that vibrate at different frequencies depending on the command
The handling system isn’t simply a removed way to shock a dog into performing the correct actions, though. The highly capable computer on the harness has the ability to learn from the dog’s behaviors. It will record the particular dog’s tendencies and faculties in order to provide a more accurate method of guidance.
The technology may not be suited for at-home training of the family dog, but there are many practical applications for the harness. For example, it could be employed in the training of police dogs, emergency dogs and dogs in the military. The purpose of using a remote to control the dog instead of hand training is helpful for situations that may be dangerous. The harness is still in the research phases, but it could change the way dogs are manipulated in the future.