Researchers devise tool for understanding dog barks

Scientists at the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary have developed a computer that can “translate” dog barks. We put translate in quotes because the machine can only detect the dogs’ general mood at the time. Scientists claim the readings are 43 percent accurate – something which doesn’t seem that great, but they add most humans would not have done so well.

The scientists analyzed over 6000 barks from 14 Hungarian sheepdogs in six moods: stranger, fight, walk, alone, ball or play. After digitizing and comparing the barks, they created a program that can detect the emotional states of a dog based on the acoustic changes of the barking sounds.

Of course most dog owners will probably laugh at the 43 percent accuracy rate because owners often become accustomed to both barking sounds and other facial/body expressions that their dog exhibits. The scientists now plan on study other breeds of dogs to compare the commonalities between barks.