Smart Robotic Laser Guides Dog Owners of Poop That Needs Picking Up

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 25 May 2022, 08:05 pm

Inventor Caleb Olson created a smart system that will track where the pup poops are and will also use a laser to guide you to where every pile is.

This device was created in order to avoid the hassle of scooping immediately after letting their dog outside to relieve themselves and to make sure that the future cleanups do not miss any spots on the ground.

Laser Guides You to Every Pup Poop

The idea of the robotic laser-guided poop pickup system was originally from another system that Olsen created that used artificial intelligence to detect when his pet Corgi pooped in their backyard.

Using a live feed from a security camera, Olsen was able to collect images of their dog pooping that they can use to train an AI model named DeepLabCut that can recognize specific poses in animals, according to Gizmodo.

In this case, the pose Olsen's dog makes when relieving itself in the backyard alerts the system that there might be poop in the area.

Also Read: Chinese Scientists Use Gene Splicer To Create Hulk Dogs

Every time that the AI model detects a deposit, it will highlight the spot in the ground with a red circle on the live feed from the security camera, making it easier to round up all of the poop afterward, but not as easy as it could be, according to HiTechGlitz.

Pinpointing where all of the red circles on the security camera live feed lined up on the backyard lawn was a bit tricky, so Olsen further expanded the system with the addition of a bright green laser attached to a robotic arm.

Once outside and the camera is on, Olsen can trigger the robot by just crossing its arms in an X.

The system will then calculate the nearest poop and project a green dot on the ground in front of Olsen that guides them to its location, according to True Viral News.

When the system detects another trained gesture, Olsen crouching down to scoop the poop, the system moves on to the next pile and then the next, slowly leading Olsen on what has to be the challenging hunt imaginable.

It may seem like an over-indulgent use of technology, but it prevents dog owners from stepping on a missed pile of backyard poop accidentally.

The technology is ingenious and not only useful for the backyard. It can even be used in every public park in the country, and it can serve as a warning system to those who are strolling through.

Other Technologies for Pets

For cat owners, scooping cat litter is a bother. Luckily, there are self-cleaning litter boxes that can sift through the cat litter after each use and deposit the litter into a waste drawer. You no longer have to scoop the cat poop yourself.

Dog owners can even take advantage of automatic ball launchers. Keeping the dogs active is beneficial for their health, but playing fetch for hours on end can be time-consuming and tiring.

The automatic ball launches will do the hard work for you, as they can throw balls for as long as your dog wants them to.

In 2014, GoPro Fetch allowed dog owners to film the activities of their dogs.

In 2020, LINK AKC created a dog collar that also serves as GPS.