Beyond GPS to Find Dogs: GPS to Assist Guide Dogs
I have a blind cousin who has had several guide dogs in her life. I’m not a dog person, but those dogs I learned early in life are “working dogs” trained to guide and help and their owners. They were the first dogs of which I was not afraid. But while guide dogs are great “in the neighborhood” as they learn the routine paths to work and school, new geographies present a challenge.
Enter design UK student Jason Perkins who has built Peepo, a GPS enabled tool designed to used “alongside” a guide dog. The device is held in the same hand as the guide dog’s lead and uses vibrations to indicate turns or confirm the user is headed in the correct direction. The device is pre-programmed with start and end destinations before venturing out and the dog continues to do its job monitoring and guiding around and through nearby hazards. The app has been nominated for the Sir James Dyson award (named after the vacuum inventor) which grants £10,000 cash to the winner and another £10,000 for their design department.
Peepo brings new meaning to assisted GPS!
