Dog-Smart Homes: Portable controls optimised for mobility assistance dogs

The Dog-Smart Homes project aims to develop a set of portable controls that improve performance and wellbeing of current human-canine mobility assistance partnerships. The research explores the optimisation of controls for mobility assistance dogs (MAD) by rethinking the relation between function and design in everyday objects -- in relation to canine sensory, cognitive and physical characteristics. It proposes the development of a Canine-Centered Design Framework that can be used to explore and establish requirements for the design of a complete production-ready toolkit of portable interfaces. The intended outcome would reconfigure current interaction conditions by recognizing canines as legitimate stakeholders and contributors within the design process.