Search and rescue: dog and handler collaboration through wearable and mobile interfaces

Abstract

Search and Rescue (SAR) is a critical component of disaster recovery efforts. Every second saved in the search increases the chances of finding survivors and the majority of these teams prefer using canines [5]. Our goal is to help enable SAR dog and handler teams to work together more effectively. Using a semi-structured interviews and guidance from K9-SAR experts as we iterate through designs, we develop a two-part system consisting of a wearable computer interface for working SAR dogs that communicates with their handler via a mobile application. Additionally, we discuss the system around a heuristic framework that includes dogs as active participants. Finally, we show the viability of our tool by evaluating it with feedback from three SAR experts.