A Mind-Reading Dog Translator That Just Might Work

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A Mind-Reading Dog Translator That Just Might Work

Today on Indiegogo, you can preorder a device called the No More Woof for $65. It promises to read your dog’s mind and speak out what he/she is thinking.

At first glance, it’s the epitome of everything wrong with crowdfunding platforms: It’s vaporware, a concept that has no hope of becoming a reality. And so far, the press has met it with skepticism. But after talking to the Swedish creatives behind the device at Studio Total, I, like most of you, will kick myself for not thinking of it first.

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Mazetti isn’t exaggerating. The project started as a bit of a joke between him and his brother, when Tomas suggested an Epoc (an off the shelf EEG) could be used to read the mind of their mother’s dog. Then Mazetti ordered one. His studio began trying the Epoc and other EEGs on dogs. And as you might expect, they could discern very basic mental states, just as these EEGs can do in a human.

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Hook that EEG up with two other off the shelf components, a cheap Raspberry Pi processor and a portable speaker, and suddenly, you have the extremely basic, $65 No More Woof being offered on Indiegogo today (which makes you wonder if, at that price, the device is selling for a significant loss).

More: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3023686/why-a-mind-reading-dog-translator-isnt-nearly-as-crazy-as-it-sounds

Why does this make me think of this?

[ChazInAz]

1. Dogs?

Once they've finished working with lower life forms, such as dogs, I'd like to see what they could do for cats. Now THAT would yield some interesting, and probably humiliating, results.

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3. Cats wouldn't wear the head sets!

And cats already know how to make their wished known. My cats, for instance, telepaths his desire for food by standing in the middle of the kitchen door, staring at his empty dish.

[mainer]

4. Cats are binary thinkers

1. Feed me.
2. Go away.

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7. Teddy the porcupine reminded me of these cats

[politichew]

8. Hahahahahaha!

[Brickbat]

2. People have trouble figuring out what dogs are thinking?

Good lord, they're open books.

[hunter]

9. Yes, I was thinking the same.

Dog language is a lot easier for me to understand than people language.

I won't quite say they are "open books." Smart dogs are quite capable of hiding their intent. For example, they'll notice food on the counter and ignore it. Then as soon as you leave the room for a minute they might grab it, wolf it down, and return to whatever they were doing before you left.

It's probably something they might get away with outdoors, "The crows took it!" but they don't seem to realize they will be the prime suspect if they are the only other animal in the kitchen.

We have one dog who likes to stash away chewy treats for later and another dog who is sneaky and utterly shameless about stealing them.

[intaglio]

5. Squirrel!

and what about Teddy Bear?

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6. Teddy doesn't need a translator!

He speaks clearer than many people I know!

[hunter]

10. My Corn! Yum, yum, yum... Get Back!

Yep, I definitely heard that.