*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************
Title: The Internet of Living Things: Enabling Increased Information Flow in Dog—Human Interactions
Joelle Alcaidinho
Ph.D. student, Human Centered Computing
School of Interactive Computing
College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology
Date: Monday, November 28th, 2016
Time: 3:30 - 5:30 pm
Location: TSRB 223
Committee:
-------------------------------------------------
Dr. Melody Jackson (Advisor, School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech)
Dr. Gregory Abowd (Co-Advisor, School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech)
Dr. Elizabeth DiSalvo (School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech)
Dr. Rebecca Grinter (School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech)
Dr. Thad Starner (School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Tech)
Dr. Genevieve Bell (Corporate Strategy Group, Intel Corporation, Santa Clara)
Abstract:
--------------------------------------------------
Despite an eleven-thousand-year-old coexistence between humans and dogs, the flow of information between these two species is highly asymmetrical. This asymmetry can be traced, in part, to three barriers. We have classified these as perceptual, distance and contextual barriers.
Perceptual barriers are a result of humans being unable to perceive information from sensory modes not used for human communication (e.g., scent). Distance barriers are present when the humans are beyond line of sight (or hearing) to make direct observations. For example, humans in a work environment are unlikely to notice their dog is exhibiting distress behaviors at home (e.g., constant barking). Contextual barriers are manifest when a behavior is undecipherable by a human due to a lack of context or expertise. For example, yawning in the absence of context can be interpreted as tiredness. Additional information, such as the onset of a thunderstorm, clarifies that this behavior could have a different cause, namely stress. Similarly, because a dog’s human companions are the most likely to understand this contextual information, they can only communicate with a limited number of individuals.
These three barriers cause the aforementioned information asymmetry. The field of information technology has a long history of overcoming such asymmetries, and so, I propose using wearable computing systems for this purpose. Wearable computing systems increase the quantity and quality of information, its accessibility, and the number of recipients in dog—human interactions. The Descriptive approaches allow dogs to send a specific message to humans. The Diagnostic approach allows humans to understand canine actions on a broader scale. Finally, the Directive approach supports decision-making in canine—human systems, such as explosive-detection teams.
