Do you ever wonder what your dog is trying to tell you? First came the Mattel Puppy Tweets toy, which you can read about in a previous article, Five Pet Tech Gadgets For Spring, and now, thanks to new technology, we are two more steps closer to figuring it out.
Step one was The Bow-lingual Dog Bark Translator, a collar attachment that includes a microphone and a handheld unit that records the barks and then translates them into fairly accurate phrases (based on third party testing, here).
The problem with this gadget is the sensitive microphone. It picks up everything including chin rattling, scratching, humans speaking, music playing, and any other background noise then tries to translate it. Usually the background noise is translated into “on-guard” mode, which usually translates into phrases such as “I don’t like you” or “Leave me alone.”
Step two comes from the same Japanese company that created the Bow-Lingual translator. The Bow-Lingual iPhone app allows iPhone users to record their dog’s barks, translates them, and then posts the messages on Twitter, adding a social element to the product. In fact, one of the goals for the app version is to encourage dog owners to socialize.
Due to the iPhone’s capabilities, this version of Bow-Lingual should work better than the stand-alone device at filtering out background noise. However, a new problem is created because it cannot be left on like the first version could in ‘home alone’ mode.
Here is how it works: A dog owning iPhone user opens the app, points the phone at the dog, the dog hopefully barks at the right time (they tend to not bark when you want them to in my experience), the translated message will be displayed on the screen with a bone-shaped button at the bottom. The dog owner/phone user has the option of adding her own message before touching the bone-shaped button that publishes the message on twitter. A profile can be set up for the pooch and viewed from the app or on twitter.
This app will not be available in English until at least August of this year, but the collar version is available for around $250 USD. It is being marketed as a gag product by Japanese toy giant Takara Tomy, however, they also point out the science behind the product, which was developed by an acoustic lab and a veterinarian. Bow-Lingual has sold over 300,000 of its collars in Japan and has even won the Ig Nobel Peach Prize (2002).
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About the author:
Kayleigh has always loved animals and has spent time volunteering at the local dog shelter. The love of her life is her four year old Rottweiler, Lizzie. She enjoys writing for YeePet.com since it combines her love of animals with one of her favor...
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