Larry Freil

FIDO--Facilitating interactions for dogs with occupations: wearable communication interfaces for working dogs

Abstract Working dogs have improved the lives of thousands of people throughout history. However, communication between human and canine partners is currently limited. The main goal of the FIDO project is to research fundamental aspects of wearable technologies to support communication between working dogs and their handlers. In this study, the FIDO team investigated on-body interfaces for dogs in the form of wearable technology integrated into assistance dog vests. We created five different sensors that dogs could activate based on natural dog behaviors such as biting, tugging, and nose touches. We then tested the sensors on-body with eight dogs previously trained for a variety of occupations and compared their effectiveness in several dimensions. We were able to demonstrate that it is possible to create wearable sensors that dogs can reliably activate on command, and to determine cognitive and physical factors that affect dogs’ success with body–worn interaction technology.

Search and rescue: dog and handler collaboration through wearable and mobile interfaces

Search and Rescue (SAR) is a critical component of disaster recovery efforts. Every second saved in the search increases the chances of finding survivors and the majority of these teams prefer using canines [5]. Our goal is to help enable SAR dog and handler teams to work together more effectively. Using a semi-structured interviews and guidance from K9-SAR experts as we iterate through designs, we develop a two-part system consisting of a wearable computer interface for working SAR dogs that communicates with their handler via a mobile application. Additionally, we discuss the system around a heuristic framework that includes dogs as active participants. Finally, we show the viability of our tool by evaluating it with feedback from three SAR experts.

Canine computer interaction: towards designing a touchscreen interface for working dogs

Touchscreens can provide a way for service dogs to relay emergency information about their handlers from a home or office environment. In this paper, we build on work exploring the ability of canines to interact with touchscreen interfaces. We observe new requirements for training and explain best practices found in training techniques. Learning from previous work, we also begin to test new dog interaction techniques such as lift-off selection and sliding gestural motions. Our goal is to understand the affordances needed to make touchscreen interfaces usable for canines and help the future design of touchscreen interfaces for assistance dogs in the home.

Canine reachability of snout-based wearable inputs

We designed an experiment with the goal of assessing wearable reachability for canines. We investigated the effect of placement on the ability of dogs to reach on-body interfaces with their snouts. In our pilot study, seven placements along the front legs, rib cage, hip and chest are tested with six dogs. The results showed that the front leg placements are reachable with the least amount of training and are also the most invariant to small changes in location. With training, the lower half of the rib cage area had the fastest access times across subjects. We hope that these results may be useful in mapping the constraint space of placements for snout interactions.

Mobile Collaboration for Human and Canine Police Explosive Detection Teams

We designed a communication system for law enforcement officers to use when conducting explosive detection searches with multiple agencies. Dogs trained in explosive detection work alongside human handlers to form a K9 team, which are an integral part of these searches. Officers in K9 teams have a strong bond and communication with these dogs, but noisy locations, long distances, and crowded spaces present challenges. In addition, other officers assigned as backup often lack the experience to read the cues from the canine, which hinders the speed and effectiveness of the team. Coordinating a search with teams from different municipalities presents challenges due to a lack of standard collaboration tools. Getting the right information as quickly as possible saves lives, whether this information is about the areas that have been searched or the location of an explosive device. We hope that in addition to increasing public safety, our system will make working conditions safer for law enforcement officers and their canines.

Canine-Centered Computing

Canines and humans have lived together for many thousands of years, to our mutual benefit. In addition to providing companionship, dogs can perform critical roles, such as assisting humans with medical concerns, searching for lost individuals, and detecting substances by scent. Researching how technology might be designed for canines has the potential to significantly improve the lives of both dogs and humans. We draw upon the extensive foundations and literature in human-centered computing to identify and adapt models and methods that are relevant for canines. Our work surveys the landscape of canine-centered computing and canine psychophysics, and generates a framework and set of guidelines to help inform the requirements, design, and evaluation of systems for canines. Our principal aim is to invite and challenge human computer interaction (HCI) researchers to contribute to the field of canine-centered computing, and we conclude with a call to action in this promising nascent field. L. Freil et al.. Canine-Centered Computing. Foundations and Trends