Finding lost dogs with a nose print - Chinese AI should make it possible
A Chinese start-up wants to recognise dogs by their nose prints, just like people by their fingerprints. The news is cute, but also thought-provoking.
How can artificial intelligence be used to tell dogs apart? A Chinese start-up company claims to have found the answer to this question. At Megvii, AI does not stop at recognising humans. The Beijing-based company has developed a programme that uses AI to identify dogs.
Instead of photographing the entire dog, Megvii only focusses on the dog's unique nose. A scan of the nose is created to identify the dog. Dog nose prints are unique, just like our fingerprints.
Dog nose recognition via app
According to Megvii, Chinese dog owners should be able to register their four-legged friend by simply recording the dog's nose with the Megvii app. The app uses the mobile phone camera to do this. Just as you have to press your finger on the scanner several times to register a fingerprint, the phone prompts the dog owner to photograph the dog's nose from different angles.
According to Megvii, the accuracy rate of nose recognition is 95 per cent - and 15,000 lost dogs have already been returned to their owners thanks to the app.
According to Megvii, the dog nose scan is cheaper and of course less invasive than the conventional identification method using chip implants. Megvii's app is said to be able to localise important identifying features of dogs' noses and create a unique profile of the dog in the database.
The app cannot be found in the local Playstore, however.
Another smartphone app called Finding Rover uses facial recognition to find lost dogs in the USA. Based on an algorithm developed at the University of Utah, the app collects photos of missing dogs. The images are then compared with a database of dogs that have been found by animal shelters or other users of the app.
The ugly side of the story
Megvii's technology is also used by Chinese authorities to monitor errant dog owners. Just walking a dog without a lead can be penalised in this way.
In addition, the AI start-up Megvii is also known for supplying the Chinese government with the software that China uses to monitor its citizens using facial recognition.
The system with dog nose recognition is also said to work with cat noses, but is less popular in China.
Testing devices and gadgets is my thing. Some experiments lead to interesting insights, others to demolished phones. I’m hooked on series and can’t imagine life without Netflix. In summer, you’ll find me soaking up the sun by the lake or at a music festival.