Scientists are currently working on advanced harnesses for search-and-rescue mission dogs to wear.
The researchers said the technology could help dogs find victims more efficiently and relay data about environmental hazards and other important information, according to Discovery News.
They added that while the number of dogs being used in rescue missions is steadily rising, law enforcement officials seldom employ canines overall.
"We have developed techniques and technological platforms to improve the efficiency of search-and-rescue dog training and to augment the current capabilities of search-and-rescue dogs in the field," David Roberts and Alper Bozkurt, researchers at North Carolina State University, said in an email.
Roberts and Bozkurt work for a team of many institutions that is responsible for the Smart Emergency Response System (SERS). The SERS is an organized group of humans, dogs, drones and robots that work together to locate and save people in an emergency, Paw Nation reported.
Scientists took store-bought harnesses and added cameras, microphones and environmental sensors that could transfer data from a disaster area. The harnesses could be changed under specific circumstances like including a natural-gas sensor for a natural-gas leak, or a Geiger counter for a radiation leak.
The dog's physiology and behavior would also be monitored with sensors included in the vests. The sensors keep track of the animal's health or find out if the dog discovered a scent or object that could help a search, Discovery News reported.
The harnesses also would feature vibration devices and speakers for handlers to use for remotely relaying commands to dogs. With help from reward-based training, the animals could respond to nudges from the vest, such as a cellphone vibrating.
Bozkurt and Roberts said the dogs' cognitive capacity, eyesight, sense of smell and hearing range make them able to accomplish tasks that robots can't, and that these abilities still work after long hours in harsh environments, Paw Nation reported.
The SERS team will compete with 20 other teams in the Smart American Challenge this summer. The competition will be held in Washington, D.C., and focuses on technological innovations.
"We are still in the testing process, and our preliminary results are very promising," Roberts and Bozkurt said.
