Yap-lication unlocks canine moods

Yap-lication unlocks canine moods

BBC tests ‘translator’

The nuances of a dog’s barks, howls, yaps and growls can now apparently be discerned by a new computer program developed by Hungarian scientists. The software is said to distinguish the emotional reaction of 14 dogs of the Hungarian Mudi breed.

After analysing 6,000 barks, it aims to determine when a dog has seen a ball, when it is fighting, playing, meeting a stranger or when it wants a walk.

But the scientists admit the technology only just out-performs humans.

While the computer correctly recognised the emotional state of 43% of dogs, humans did almost as well with 40%.

But the author of the research – Csaba Molnar, from Eotvos University in Budapest – says the software can be improved, and told the BBC it may have applications for analysis of human communication.

“I would say that we proved there are very strong contextual differences between the barks, but that very long further work is needed to determine which emotional states and which characteristics belong to each (different breed).

He added: “In the future we can use this software for any other vocal or any other signal categorisation.”

The scientist also believes that later versions of the software could help owners and dog trainers identify more about dogs’ well-being.

“A possible commercial application could be a device for dog-human communication,” the scientist told Reuters news agency.

In pictures: From edible to incredible

In pictures: From edible to incredible

<!– document.write(‘ YOUR PICTURE GALLERY IS NOW LOADING… ‘) //–> YOUR PICTURE GALLERY IS NOW LOADING… Incredibly, everything you see in this image can be found in the kitchen. Photographer Carl Warner has painstakingly captured all kinds of food in a series of still lifes. He says his ‘Foodscapes’ were partly inspired by healthy eating campaigns. But they have not persuaded his own children to take up the five-a-day pledge. The Forest of Dean or the Forest of Greens? The road is paved with cumin, peas hang from broccoli trees and cauliflower clouds adorn the sky with bread for mountains. Edible ingredients in this Italian-inspired rural scene include a lasagne cart, fields of pasta, a pine nut wall, mozzarella clouds, trees of peppers and chillies and a parmesan village. To give a realistic three-dimensional feel to the photographs, each still life is composed on a table measuring 8ft by 4ft. The foreground is only about 2ft across. Each scene is photographed in separate layers to prevent the food from wilting. “I like the way smaller aspects of nature resembled larger ones,” says Carl Warner. A winter landscape for carnivores – Parma ham and breadsticks are fashioned into a sled which is pulled across a snow-covered road made from a selection of cold meats. The red sky at night in this landscape is actually made from salmon. The beautiful pea-green boat wouldn’t be out of place in Edward Lear’s nonsense poem, ‘The Owl and The Pussycat’. Back 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next

Australians vote on word of 2007

Australians vote on word of 2007

Are these Sydney beachgoers running the risk of tanorexia?

Are you suffering from password fatigue? Ever considered manscaping? Do you know any tanorexics? These phrases and more are contenders in an online vote organised by Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary to select the Word of the Year 2007.

Seventeen categories contain a total of 85 words from which voters can choose.

Options include globesity – the problem of rising obesity around the globe – and floordrobe – the use of the floor as a substitute wardrobe.

Some words appear to be unique to Australia.

Salad dodger is included as a term for an overweight person, while a surfer under the age of 10 can now be called a microgrom.

AUSSIE WORDS 2007 Password fatigue: Frustration caused by having too many passwords and failing to remember them Manscaping: Male grooming procedures involving the removal of body hair Tanorexia: An obsessive desire to have tanned skin Credit card tart: Someone who transfers loans to a new card when the interest-free period of the first card expires Your comments: Word of 2007

But many of the new words seem to reflect global developments and trends.

Chindia is used as a noun to refer to China and India as a collective unit, in terms of economic power and strategic importance.

There are also five new words related to carbon emissions and how to deal with them, reflecting growing concern about climate change.

Several of the new words relate to advances in technology.

Pod slurping is described as the practice of downloading large quantities of data to an MP3 player or memory stick from a computer.

Griefers, meanwhile, are players who deliberately sabotage online computer games instead of abiding by the rules.

Other words represent new definitions for old concepts.

Kippers are adult children who fail to leave home – a contraction of Kids In Parents’ Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings.

Man flu, meanwhile, refers to a minor cold contracted by a man who then proceeds to exaggerate the symptoms, the dictionary said.

Voting closes on 31 January and Australia’s Word of the Year 2007 will be announced in the first week of February.