Reference information:
Title: Early Explorations of CAT: Canine Amusement and Training
Authors: Chadwick Wingrave, Todd Langston, Jeremy Rose and Joseph LaViola Jr.
Presentation: 28th of the international conference extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems
Summary:
The paper talks about how cross species computer applications have a potential for improving the canine-human bond. The authors emphasize on developing software tools that can motivate human to spend time with their canine in healthy and informative ways. They have also developed some prototype games that are are calm, healthy and enjoyable both for canine and human.
The main purpose of the Canine Amusement and Training project was to reclaim time for the human canine bond. Humans need to be entertained and taught how to interact with their canine. The system consists of 55" LCD TV, a projector and wii remotes to track the position of the canine. The projector is mounted on the roof and the image is projected on the floor for the canine to see. The wii remote is attached on the back of the canine. A number of games, ranging from easy difficulty level to more challenging games can be designed.
Discussion:
I think the idea sounds pretty interesting. The paper only talks about games that instructs the canine to sit, stand and stay calm. It can be made more fun if better games are designed that involve activities like chasing an object, etc.
However, this project is not something I would personally like to research on. I personally would prefer getting my canine trained from a professional trainer, rather than experimenting with these games. But I'm sure, if this is made into a product, it will receive good response.
This sounds like a pretty cool idea. Human Animal Computer Interaction! So do the games expect the dog to already be trained on how to sit, stand and stay calm or does the game somehow aid the person in training the dog too? I know a lot of owners who have taught their dog to sit and stay but not as many who have taught them to stand.
ReplyDeleteIf I was the dog, I'd be kind of sad that it a 55" TV and some Wiimotes to get people to spend time with me.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to games talked about, did they indicate if more complex programs exists and weren't discussed, or where they simply not mentioned?
@Cindy: The games don't expect the dogs to be already trained on how to sit or stay calm. They start off being really easy, like having the dog just stand next to its owner. They eventually get complex and successfully train the dog and plus, it's a lot of fun.
ReplyDelete@Josh: The authors only talked about one game with three difficulty levels in the paper. This was the prototype developed for testing the project. So I'm guessing complex games don't really exist, yet.