An Alaskan Malamute Is Helping Researchers Build a Dog-like Artificial Intelligence System

 

Researchers are now working with an Alaskan Malamute named Kelp to create an artificial intelligence system that thinks like a dog, with the goal of producing robots that look like dogs. 

 

Why are scientists trying to train AI to think like a dog? Elderly and disabled persons could benefit from the assistance of robotic dogs.

 

Using sensors on Kelp’s paws, chest, and tail, a team of scientists built a database of canine activity while she ate, played fetch, and walked around in various indoor and outdoor locations. A camera mounted on Kelp’s head captured her daily activity.

 

The researchers collected over 24,000 video frames over several weeks, all linked to specific body movements.

 

The researchers then utilized machine learning to find trends in Kelp’s behavior. This was then used to train an AI system to comprehend Kelp’s behavior and predict how canines would react in other situations.

 

But what the system learned from the dog went beyond what it was trained to expect. The AI system could detect “walkable” terrain since Kelp intuitively knew whether a path was too rocky or not. The AI system may also discriminate between different environments based on the dog’s movement in them.

Ehsani noted that a dog would behave and move differently in a dog park than in a home. “When we used our dataset to solve these problems, surprisingly we were able to do it,” Ehsani told NBC News Mach.

 

By tracking dog-to-dog encounters and analyzing breed differences, Ehsani intends to enhance the study’s database.

 

The researchers plan to build a service dog robot with four legs. Ehsani noted that because service dogs are expensive to train, it may be more efficient to work on a robot dog.

 

Is it, however, realistically possible? The discovery is “very interesting,” according to Marc Bekoff, emeritus professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado and an expert on canine behavior.

 

“The dog-human interaction — especially among service dogs — is very nuanced,” Bekoff said. “There’s just an incredible variability among the dogs themselves, among the people, and among the dog-human relationships.”

 

“We’re light-years away,” said Bekoff, who was not part with the present work.

 

Ehsani acknowledges that service dogs will not be replaced by robots anytime soon, but he still thinks the research is worth pursuing.