University of York helps to train hearing dogs
Posted on 19 June 2007
Hearing dogs are trained to alert deaf people to everyday household sounds including the telephone, and when the dogs are learning to respond to this sound, it is important that the phones can be programmed to ring at random times during the soundwork session. These small boxes delay the phone ringing for various different timescales, thus making the dogs’ training much closer to a real-life home situation where the telephone may randomly ring at any given point during the day.
These boxes are a vital part of the training programme for hearing dogs, and have been used by the charity for years. Unfortunately, the boxes they had been using were old and unreliable, which was affecting not only the soundwork of the dogs in training, but was also causing problems for Hearing Dogs’ demonstration team at such high profile events as Crufts and the CLA Game Fair.
It is wonderful to know that the University has helped play a part in training more dogs for deaf people
Dr David Chesmore
After contacting many possible suppliers without success, staff at the training centre hit on the idea of asking University academics for assistance. Dr David Chesmore, of the University’s Department of Electronics, visited the charity’s training centre at Cliffe, near Selby, to see if he could help.
"I found the whole idea intriguing, and after watching a hearing dog demonstration at Cliffe and understanding how vital these boxes were to the training programme, I went back to my Department and began working on the design of a replacement phone box," he said.
Dr Chesmore designed the complete system, including writing the software for the microcontroller, and Pete Turner - Chief Technician for Teaching and Research - was responsible for the printed circuit board design and construction of the cases. Head of the Department, Professor Andy Tyrrell, provided the funds for the work as he felt it is a worthy cause.
"We all found it an interesting task, but not too difficult. It was a useful project to undertake and for such a worthwhile charity. It is wonderful to know that the University has helped play a part in training more dogs for deaf people," Dr Chesmore said.
Angie Oldfied, Hearing Dogs’ northern training centre manager, said: "Hearing Dogs is very grateful to Dr Chesmore and everyone at the Department of Electronics for donating these special phone boxes. They are an integral part of a hearing dog’s training, and allows the trainers to teach the dogs to respond to the telephone in the most realistic way, enabling the dogs to work properly and efficiently when they are placed in their deaf owners’ homes."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a registered charity that selects and trains dogs to respond to specific sounds. Hearing dogs alert deaf people by touch, using a paw to gain attention and then lead them back to the sound source. For sounds such as the smoke alarm and fire alarm the dogs will lay down to indicate danger. Hearing Dogs is celebrating its 25th Anniversary during 2007. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People provides a national service and no charge is made to recipients. Around seventy per cent of all hearing dogs adopted into the scheme are either rescued or unwanted and since its inception in 1982, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People has placed more than 1300 hearing dogs. The Charity has two centres operating in the UK - Buckinghamshire and North Yorkshire.
- The Department of Electronics at York has a high reputation for teaching and research, with current research funding exceeding £5 million. More information at www.elec.york.ac.uk/.