DogPhone could empower ‘pandemic pups’ to stay in touch with their owners

DogPhone is the result of a collaboration between Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, of the University of Glasgow, and her 10-year-old labrador, Zack, along with colleagues from Aalto University in Finland. DogPhone allows Zack to call Dr Hirskyj-Douglas by picking up and shaking a ball fitted with an accelerometer. When the accelerometer senses movement, it initiates a video call on a laptop in their living room allowing Zack to see and interact with his owner whenever he chooses. Zack’s owner can also use the system to call him, and he is free to answer or ignore the call. Dr Hirsky-Douglas is a specialist in animal-computer interaction at the University’s School of Computing Science, who researches new ways to enrich pets’ lives through technology. The University of Glasgow, changing the world since 1451.