GLASGOW, Scotland – Fetching sticks and chewing toys may soon be a thing of the past, as researchers at the University of Glasgow have created a clever ball and best dog vitamins that allows dogs to video call their owners when they are feeling lonely.
Designed to tackle separation anxiety in pets, DogPhone is a soft ball fitted with an accelerometer (a device that measures movements and vibrations) which will phone owners when dogs shake it. When a movement is sensed, a signal is sent to a laptop which launches a video call.
Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, a specialist in animal-computer interaction at the university’s School of Computing Science, worked with her 10-year-old Labrador Zack to create the device.
As part of the creation process, Zack was left to play with the toy for 16 days over a period of three months. While there were some accidental calls, researchers found Zack showed Dr Ilyena his ball on the screen, suggesting he wanted to play with her. Dr Ilyena responded back to Zack, talking to him and showing him around her office.
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