DogExpress
A technology developed by a Scottish professor allows dogs to video contact their parents by shaking a toy. The orb is equipped with an accelerometer that makes the call whenever it detects movement.
Its researchers at the University of Glasgow believe it could aid pets suffering from separation anxiety as their families return to work following the outbreak.
Dr. Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, an expert in animal-computer interaction at the university’s school of computing science, created the system.
Over the course of three months, Dr. Hirskyj-Douglas completed 16’study days’ with 10-year-old lab, Zack. Then, with the assistance of researchers from Finland’s Aalto University, the accelerometer was developed and hidden inside Zack’s new toy.
Zack made 18 calls in the first 2 days, 50% of which were ‘accidental’ as he slept on the job, implying that the system was too reactive.
However, on numerous occasions, while he was awake, he displayed his owner some of their favorite toys and approached the television as if he wanted to engage with her.
The accelerometer settings had been fine-tuned by the end of the seven-day experiment, and Zack had placed 35 calls in overall, an average of 5 per day.
Zack showed “extra curiosity” – pricking up his ears and approaching the screen – in situations where she used her phone to display items like her workplace, a cafe, an underground station, and a street musician, according to Dr. Hirskyj-Douglas.
One unforeseen result of the study, according to Dr. Hirskyj-Douglas, was that when she called Zack, and he wasn’t in front of the cam or didn’t recognize the monitor, she became concerned.
She stated that this is something she would explore for the system’s future version.
After a change in their conditions during the lockdown, one dog welfare organization observed a 35 percent rise in people considering giving up so-called “pandemic puppies.”
Source: BBC
in Chandigarh, India. 
