Cyborg Guard Dogs

Our reliance on "man's best friend" for protection dates back to prehistoric times. But now, an Israeli-based startup called Bio-Sense Technologies is giving the venerable guard dog an upgrade with an electronic collar that can monitor a dog for signs of anxiety such as raised fur or a racing heartbeat, which dogs often exhibit before they bark. The collar can also interpret different types of dog barks, and can distinguish barks signaling a threat from other types. When the collar registers such activity, it sends a signal back to a home base, which can distribute alerts via e-mail or cell phone.

In tests in an Israeli prison, dogs equipped with the Bio-Sense collars detected 93% of simulated prisoner escape attempts, compared with 30 to 40% otherwise.

An MPEG video showing the system in action is available here.

Source: Business 2.0