http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010808/tc/leisure_japan_dogs_dc.html

Wednesday August 8 3:03 AM ET

Japanese Company Interprets Canine Chatter

TOKYO (Reuters) - Ever wonder what your dog is really trying to say?

Takara Co. Ltd., Japan's third-largest toy maker, may have the answer with its new ``Bow-lingual,'' a hand-held electronic device that gauges a dog's moods by listening to its bark.

A microphone attached to the dog's collar sends a voice-print via infra-red beams to the owner's canine emotion pager, which has a small liquid crystal display that shows how the dog feels.

Bow-lingual gauges six emotions, using 200 words to describe them and displays the dog's feelings on the pager with pictures -- such as ``happy'' or ``fun'' with a smiling dog's face.

However, beware of a temperamental puppy, who tells its owner that it is ``annoyed'' or ``frustrated.''

In the ``Dog Diary'' mode, Bow-lingual will, after collecting data from a full day of barking, describe how a dog felt during the day using 100 pre-programmed sentences.

The product was developed in conjunction with the Japan Acoustic Lab and mobile phone contents provider Index Corp.

``This is not about communication between two human beings, instead we asked ourselves if it was possible to communicate with animals... and our answer to that is that it is possible,'' said Masami Ochiai, president of Index Corp.

Takara said the dog translator will be available in Japan from February 2002, for $103, with the company targeting sales of 200,000 units.

In a country where one in two people have a mobile phone, the company plans to upgrade the device so it can relay data to handsets, enabling owners to gauge their dogs' moods even when they are out of the house.

A Takara spokeswoman said the company is considering selling the ``Bow-lingual'' overseas.

Takara shares closed 1.15 percent higher at 1,580 yen, outperforming a 1.26 percent decline in the key Nikkei 225 share average.

-- Tidbit (of@the.day), August 08, 2001