A technology firm has produced new augmented reality goggles for the US Army.
However, these goggles have not been made for human troops, but for their canine counterparts instead.
Command Sight, who are the firm that have developed this technology, have designed the goggles to allow the dogs to receive orders at a distance. Compared to missions and combat deployments in the present, this would alleviate both the need for a handler to monitor the dogs close-by and for soldiers to direct them via either hand signals or lasers.
According to an article by the BBC, handlers will be able to view what the dog sees with the help of a remote video feed. Once the dogs have been trained to follow a visual indicator inside the goggles, the indicator then leads them to a chosen spot.
“An ability to direct dogs with visual cues through augmented reality goggles without having to maintain close physical proximity has obvious tactical benefits in a variety of situations,” said Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
The majority of research has been carried out on a Rottweiler named Mater – a dog owned by Dr AJ Peper who is the founder of Command Sight.
Even though the project is still in its early stages, Command Sight are now looking into developing a wireless version of the goggles as opposed to the current leashed version.
