Monday, May 9, 2011 at 6:18PM High tech goes to the dogs: what Osama Bin Laden saw that you still have to look forward to seeing someday.
It's not your father's fido any more!
As a culture we're immersed in technology--what's in our hands, in our cars, in our homes, in our TV sets, in our toys! Well, soon you'll be seeing on a police dog near you what Osama saw last week when the SEALS paid his home a visit. Navy SEAL Team 6 hauled along with other things a high-tech dog--a dog outfitted with the latest in protective and operational gear.
Bullet proof vests for police dogs have been around for a while, but the latest equipment is pretty interesting, including video cameras, infra-red detection devices, radio-transmitters--so that the canines can be given commands--are you ready for this--remotely, i.e., beyond the immediate eye and hearing range of the dog and the handler!
There are a couple of interesting articles out on what's involved and I'm including links to them here. But I thought you'd like to actually see what the dog likely looked like last week that inspected Osama's house, so I'm including some images of the dogs and their gear, including the site of an outfitter, a vendor.
For a long time, animals have helped humans control dicey situations and moderate the conduct of events and other humans in a way that even firearms or human themselves are incapable of; an example would be in the instance of K9 or equestrian mounts being deployed to control crowds. But it's only been recently that they've been protected from harm and now--even more impressively--outfitted to play a greater role in search and control.
And, thus, there's good reason to believe that their value will be even greater than before--what with the psychological value that animals bring to the situation, plus now as "operators" of high-technology devices that are highly prized for what they allow military and para-military personnel to do.
Also, such K9s can go anywhere the SEALs can, including parachuting from aircraft and being deployed from helicopters. They can--as well as any dog feasibly might--repel from precipices! It's an impressive list of what they are used for and the situations they might work in.
As you might guess, these animals are enormously expensive to train and then outfit--as much as $86,000, just for the technology. However, it seems well-worth the price: for all I can tell, they like the job and never go on strike for higher pay or better conditions...and do what humans and other devices can't! Sounds--and looks--like everyone's happy to me!
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Reader Comments (2)
Wow! I think Joey needs one! Thanks for sharing.
This is really remarkable. Star would be a Star at this, don't you think?