The Story
In the future, US military dogs may wear augmented reality (AR) goggles and spectacles so personnel may remotely command them.
The goggles will enable military canines to aid in rescue operations and survey potentially hazardous regions for dangers and explosives while their handlers stay at a safe distance. They are being created by Command Sight, a Seattle-based business, with money from the US Army for research.
The US Army says this is the first technology of its kind. It works by letting a handler see everything that the dog can see. The handler can then give specific commands by putting visual cues in the dog’s line of sight.
Most military dogs are directed by their handlers with hand signals or laser pointers, which require them to be close by. With a camera and radio attached to the dog, handlers can also talk to the dog, but the commands can be hard for the dog to understand.
The Army said that the AR goggles might provide handlers and Special Forces dogs with a new option, particularly because the canines are already used to using protective lenses when engaged in combat.
AR in the Future
Stephen Lee, a senior scientist at the Army Research Office, said in a statement that the new technology provided the military with a “crucial tool” for enhancing communication with military working dogs.
Lee said, “Augmented reality works differently for dogs than it does for people.” “AR will be used to give dogs commands and cues. It’s not for the dog to interact with it like a person does,” he added.
Because the prototype goggles have wires, the dog has to stay on a leash. But the next step in developing the technology is to make it wireless, which is what the researchers are working on now.
In the release, Command Sight creator A.J. Peper claimed the idea might “fundamentally revolutionize how military dogs are deployed in the future,” but there was still a “long way to go” before the technology could be deployed to troops.
Peper said, “We are still in the early stages of research into using this technology on dogs, but the results of our first research are very promising.”
“Mater, my rottweiler, has helped me do a lot of the research so far,” he said. “It’s amazing how well he’s been able to use what he’s learned from other training to work with the AR goggles.”
In the next phase of goggle development, researchers will collaborate with US Navy Special Forces to construct prototypes that will be tested on military working canines.
Fun Fact
Dogs also have 18 muscles in their ears (humans only have six). This means they can move them in many directions and hear different sounds with each ear
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