New technology helps blind people monitor guide dogs

A new harness monitors a dog’s heartbeat and breathing to help blind people care for their guide dogs.

Researchers from the North Carolina State University developed a specialized handle that attaches to a guide dog’s harness. The handle is equipped with two vibrating motors.

One motor is embedded in the handle by the handler’s thumb, and vibrates — or beats — in time with the dog’s heart rate. When the dog’s heart rate increases, so does the rate at which the motor beats.

The second motor is embedded in the handle near the handler’s pinky finger, and vibrates in synch with the dog’s breathing. The vibration increases and decreases in intensity, to simulate the dog breathing in and out.

“Our goal is to let guide dog handlers know when their dogs are stressed or anxious,” says Sean Mealin, a Ph.D. student at NC State and lead author of the paper. “This is important because it is widely believed that stress is a significant contributing factor to early retirement of guide dogs and other service animals. The technology may also be able to help handlers detect other health problems, such as symptoms of heat exhaustion.”

The prototype handle has been tested using simulated heart rate and respiratory data, and was found to be effective at accurately conveying information to users.

“We’re refreshing the design and plan to do additional testing with guide-dog handlers,” says David Roberts, an assistant professor of computer science at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the new technology.”Our ultimate goal is to provide technology that can help both guide dogs and their people. That won’t be in the immediate future, but we’re optimistic that we’ll get there.”

Category: Features, Technology & Devices