Hungarian scientists are working on computer software analysing dog barks that
could allow people to better recognise dogs’ basic emotions, Hungarian
ethologist Csaba Molnar said.

Molnar and his colleagues at
Budapest’s ELTE University have tested software which distinguishes the
emotional reaction of 14 dogs of the Hungarian Mudi herding breed to six
situations: When the dog is alone, when it sees a ball, it fights, it plays, it
encounters a stranger or it goes for a walk.

"A possible commercial
application could be a device for dog-human communication," the scientist told.
The computer correctly recognized the emotional reaction of the dogs based on
their barks and yelps in 43 percent of the cases.

People had judged correctly in
40 percent of cases. Scientists said the software could be improved. Molnar said
the Hungarian scientists’ research provided further proof that different types
of dog barks convey messages humans can understand even if they had no
experience with dogs.

Via Times of India