Canine technology for search
and rescue

The Ontario Provincial Police Emergency Response Team (PERT) and Ryerson University are working together to create a head-mounted camera for police search and rescue dogs.

"We use Petlenses sunglasses exclusively in our Canine Augmenation Technology (CAT) research. We work with many search and rescue dogs who get used to the sunglasses very quickly. We have found that Petlenses provides substantial protection for working dogs. Petlenses' rugged design and clever harness address the unique shape of a dog's head and ensure that the dog will not be injured by becoming hung-up on rebar and other hazards of a rubble pile."

Prof. Alexander Ferworn
The Network-Centric Applied Research Team
(N-CART) The department of Computer Science
Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
http://ncart.scs.ryerson.ca/

Canine Augmentation Technology (CAT) for USAR
The Intent
The intent of the CAT project has been to provide useful technological component augmentation to canine teams in support of USAR where direct interaction is precluded, for example in certain rubble search scenarios or in the rapid systematic search of distributed partially collapsed or otherwise unsafe structures.
The work stems from the premise that it is unlikely that low-level autonomous mobility systems will be available in the foreseeable future that can match or surpass the ability of canines to move over rubble quickly. Clearly, there are many areas that canines cannot go on rubble, but where they can go, their performance is hard to match.
Given this premise that dogs can provide a mobility system, has freed us to imagine how we can employ technological components on such a system to enhance the search capability of the canine team as a whole. The project is a cooperative effort between N-CART and the Provincial Emergency Response Team (PERT) of the Ontario Provincial Police. The CAT system is being developed to provide a platform for services that are considered common in many rescue robotic systems but are unheard of for canine search.
OPP Constable Kevin Barnum and his dog Dare are working with Ryerson University on head-mounted cameras for search and rescue.

Canine Augmentation Technology (CAT) project, lead by Alex Ferworn, professor in charge of the Network- Centric Applied Research Team (N-CART), involves mounting a small camera to the head of a canine trained in search and rescue. The camera will transmit video and sound feedback to the dog's handler.

Dogs will be outfitted with a camera, microphone, GPS and headset. N-CART is working on integrating all of the components with a mobile computer handled by the office.

Similar technology has been used in other countries. The U.S. National Institute of Justice used a camera attached to a collar, but it proved unstable. Police dogs in the United Kingdom use head-mounted cameras for evidence gathering in firearm situations.

"The project's goals are to allow a handler to see what the dog sees, hear what the dog hears, know where the dog is and to be able to communicate with the dog over a greater distance or in difficult environments such as rubble piles and collapsed structures," said Prof. Ferworn.

PERT Member Constable Kevin Barnum, and his dog Dare, a four year-old black lab, are testing the CAT project. Const. Barnum says the project is important because of the need for safety for both the dogs and the crew. Prof. Ferworn emphasizes that many things have to be taken into consideration because of the police working environment. For example, the dogs must not get stuck, the equipment must be robust, easy to use and safe, and the officer must not be encumbered.

Ryerson colleague Lucia Dell'Agnese, director of fashion design, is assisting Prof. Ferworn by designing the harness to carry the camera. The prototype will fit different size dogs, have a tear-away safety feature and be lightweight. A prototype is currently being used and N-CART is running video trials to obtain the most stable transmission possible, given the unstable nature of moving dogs. The next phase will be to find funding to purchase equipment and pay researchers.

"In order to test the system effectively we must expose it to realistic operating environments. This will take time and research support," added Prof. Ferworn. Andrea Fournier was a co-op student at the National Search and Rescue Secretariat in spring 2006.

http://www.nss.gc.ca/pdf
The Canadian Search and Rescue Magazine Online
Spring 2006 Vol. 15, #3 by Andrea Fournier