Tag: ACI2022

Posted on

Face Recognition for Bears in the Alps

At the end of the ACI conference, the “Paper Session 6” was held, which was titled “Investigating Human-Animal Relations”. Sarah Webber (University of Melbourne) gave a talk on “Watching Animal-Computer Interaction: Effects on Perceptions of Animal Intellect”. In the experiment, people observed orangutans interacting with computer applications. It was examined how they changed their judgments regarding the animals’ intelligence and behavior. The talk that followed came from Alexandra Morgan (Northumbria University) and was titled “Blind dogs need guides too: towards technological support for blind dog caregiving”. She addressed the needs of blind dogs and showed what gadgets are on the market to assist them. Her team developed an app called “My Blind Dogo” that could help owners of blind dogs. The session ended with a talk on “A Face Recognition System for Bears: Protection for Animals and Humans in the Alps” by Oliver Bendel (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland). He presented an integrated system with cameras, robots, and drones that Ali Yürekkirmaz and he had designed. The ACI took place from 5 to 8 December 2022 in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the world’s leading conference on animal-computer interaction. More information on the conference via www.aciconf.org/aci2022.

Posted on

Wearables for Sled Dogs

On the last day of the ACI Conference (December 8, 2022), “Session 5: Sensors & Signals, Part II: Electric Boogaloo” started after the lunch break. Carlos Alberto Aguilar-Lazcano (CICESE-UT3) gave a talk on the topic “Towards a monitoring and emergency alarm system activated by the barking of assistant dogs”. The next presentation was “WAG’D: Towards a Wearable Activity and Gait Detection Monitor for Sled Dogs” by Arianna Mastali (Georgia Institute of Technology). According to her, studies have shown orthopedic injuries to be most common among sled dogs. These like to move very much, but repeatedly exceed their capabilities. To solve this problem, the team has developed a technical solution, a special wearable, with the help of which data on the condition of the animals are generated. “Spatial and Temporal Analytic Pipeline for Evaluation of Potential Guide Dogs Using Location and Behavior Data” was the title of the next talk, given by David L. Roberts (North Carolina State University), followed by “Comparing Accelerometry and Computer Vision Sensing Modalities for High-Resolution Canine Tail Wagging Interpretation”, given by Devon Martin (North Carolina State University). More information on the conference via www.aciconf.org/aci2022.

Posted on

Time Savers or Toys?

The fourth day of the ACI2022 conference – December 8, 2022 – began with a keynote by Carys L. Williams (DogsTrust), titled “Time Savers or Toys? Realities of Animal Technology in Industry”. “Carys is a mixed-methods Research Officer at the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, Dogs Trust. Carys’ work has focused on practical and applicable dog behaviour and welfare research to improve the lives of dogs, especially those in Dogs Trust’s 22 rehoming centres (around 12,000 dogs a year!). For the last 2 years Carys has been project lead for the Dogs Trust Post Adoption Support longitudinal research project. She has additionally supported the charity’s move to collect more and better dog data, helping build exciting bespoke digital systems. Carys has also spent over a decade in the zoo industry and is currently a volunteer invertebrate keeper at ZSL London Zoo.” (Website ACI2022) Carys L. Williams started her keynote with a quote from Vladimir Dinets (University of Tennessee): “What is the best games console for my spider?” … She then turned to real-world issues, such as supporting the welfare of dogs through technological means. More information on the conference via www.aciconf.org/aci2022.