Tag: face

Posted on by

Now AI Could be Used to Locate Lost Pets

Technology will read and record features of each dog and help to build a profile for each dog.

Beijing, August 12, 2019: Dog tech is advancing with each passing day, In a recent development, a private Chinese company launched a so-called “dog-face recognition” platform offering those possibilities.

As every human has distinct fingerprints, every dog has unique identifiable features on their noses. The program developers hope that a few photos taken of the dog’s faces will help to confirm their identity. MEGVII is a Chinese artificial intelligence company with eight-years of human facial recognition experience. They are now applying similar technology to dogs.

According to the report published in Asia Times, on their PET ID platform, owners can register their pets via smartphone, filling in their information and uploading pictures of their dogs’ noses.The “facial recognition” technology will read and record features of each dog and help to build a profile for each dog.“Compared to chip injection, our method is easier, cheaper and safer,” said Li Guang, Senior Researcher of MEGVII.

The technology can also identify and authenticate dogs by comparing information of photos from different dogs, the report said.This approach can help find lost dogs and notify pet owners when their dogs are in trouble. “In the past, when we tried to find lost dogs, we used manpower. It wasn’t accurate at all. Now, the AI technology is empowering human beings with the ability to differentiate between different dogs. The accuracy can be as high as 95 percent,” Li said.

Data shows that 99 million Chinese households own one or several pets in 2018.Building a database for pets and owners is only a small step before China establishes a complete registration system for the booming market. This technology however cannot exist without government participation or society’s engagement.

“In first-tier and second-tier cities, especially, local governments’ attitude towards companion animals has improved considerably,” said Shi Jingyu, Deputy Secretary-General of China Small Animal Protection Association.“It’s not only because they have to deal with stray dogs and pet disputes, but they’re also becoming more aware that the city’s attitude towards pets reflects the reputation of the city. We hope a solid registration mechanism can be soon established.”The company also says that they are planning to expand this technology to identify other types of pets.

To read more, subscribe to Buddy Life!

Posted on by

Beware if Your Dog Licks Your Lips

Both you and your pet could be struck down with illness.

London, May 5, 2019: It is hard to resist when your cuddly mutt shows affection, especially when it licks your face and lips. But no matter what, you must not let your dog reach your face, nor if a recent research is to be believed.

According to a recent finding licky dog can actually spread a great deal of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to your mouth, and that’s never good news. Dogs don’t brush their teeth everyday, and so their mouths harbor a lot of bacteria, much of it harmful to humans. Hence letting your dog kiss you on the lips could be really bad for your health.

Scientists at Glasgow Caledonian University discovered that allowing dogs to kiss or lick your face or eat from your plate increases the chance of spreading ¬antibiotic-resistant bugs between species.Both you and your pet could be struck down with illnesses that can’t be treated with antibiotics, as the rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria leads to more and more superbugs in the UK.Health psychologist Dr Adele Dickson, who led the research, said to media “This close contact could potentially put adults, children and the pets themselves at risk of transferring bugs that are resistant to antibiotics through saliva.

To read more, subscribe to Buddy Life!

Posted on by

Researchers Recreated the Face of Ancient Dog that lived 4500 years ago

Forensic artist Amy Thornton used a 3D print from a CT scan to complete the task.

London, April 19, 2019, 8.30 P.M.: Dogs are Man’s closest companions. This fact has been proved even ancient civilizations. Now in recent development, researchers have recreated the face of a dog that lived around 4,500 years ago. It has been reconstructed after a skull was found in an ancient burial mound.
The animal’s features were recreated by forensic artist Amy Thornton using a 3D print from a CT scan of the creature’s cranium.
The dog’s remains were discovered in a Neolithic chambered cairn near the village of Grimbister, on the main island of Orkney, northern Scotland.
The site, called Cuween Hill, dates to around 3,000 BC, like many of the famous sites on the archipelago, but radiocarbon dating of the dog skull has discovered it was placed in the site around 500 years later.
The later placing of the bones suggests the animal’s burial had ritual value, archaeologists believe.
“But the remains discovered at Cuween Hill suggest that dogs had a particularly special significance for the farmers who lived around and used the tomb about 4,500 years ago.
“Maybe dogs were their symbol or totem, perhaps they thought of themselves as the ‘dog people.'”
The dog skull was one of 24 discovered when the site was excavated in 1901, as well as the remains of eight humans.
The dog that has been reconstructed was alive roughly the same time as Stonehenge was at its height in southern England and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was being built.
It was about the size of a large collie and looked similar to a European grey wolf.
More recent excavations have found evidence of a settlement downhill from the tomb, from the same period, which may be where the dog’s owners lived.
At the time the dog was alive, there were dozens of settlements housing several thousand people on Orkney, which was one of the outstanding religious and cultural centres of Europe.
The Neolithic sites of Skara Brae and the Ness of Brodgar are among the oldest stone buildings on the continent.
Evidence has been found of links between prehistoric Orkney and Stonehenge, with communities travelling between the two and exchanging ideas.
The domestication of dogs is believed to have occurred at least 15,000 years ago, with rock art and archaeological evidence in later millennia revealing they were often valued by hunting and farming communities.
Steve Farrar, interpretation manager at Historic Environment Scotland, which commissioned the reconstruction, said: “Just as they’re treasured pets today, dogs clearly had an important place in Neolithic Orkney, as they were kept and trained as pets and guards and perhaps used by farmers to help tend sheep.

To read more, subscribe to Buddy Life!