Bio-Sense makes its bones with dog biometrics

Animal biometrics, it is safe to say, is a new field of inquiry. Pawprints are not as distinct as fingerprints, nor is it easy to get a golden retriever to sit still for an iris scan. Yet some have found useful applications in animal voice biometrics. Last week, for instance, we reported on a clever aircraft safety system that can distinguish between a Canada goose and a pigeon, thereby providing pilots with ample warning that the former was approaching. We are therefore intrigued by a new product, one that analyzes a dog’s bark to determine the cause of his anxiety.

The DBS (Dog Bio-Security System), created by Israel-based Bio-Sense Technologies, is attached to the dog’s collar and can differentiate between the yips that mean dinner is coming, the yelps that indicate the mailman on his route, and the warning barks that suggest an intruder. If it is the latter, the collar sends a signal to the home alarm system, which in turn calls the police. “Dogs have a specific bark when someone threatens their space. It doesn’t matter what breed of dog they are, how big or small, or what sex, all that matters is that they bark in response to a threatening situation. An alarm bark is always the same,” said company founder and CEO Eyal Zehavi. “Through algorithms we learned how to identify the sounds.”

Bio-Sense, founded in 2000, has received $1 million in funding from VC firm Ma’ayan Ventures and in October signed a $1.5 million three-year marketing agreement with Team 3 Security Systems, a large Israeli security company. The DBS has been sold to a few dozen private homes, but much of its business has been in the government sector, including sales to the Israeli army for use in prisons, military bases, and other sensitive locations. “We wanted to prove ourselves in a maximum security environment,” says Zehavi. “We had to pass many operational tests, which we did successfully. It gave us a seal of approval from the high security authorities. If we could make it there, then the system was battle proven.” Bio-Sense hopes to begin selling the technology in the United States in 2007 at an approximate cost of $150.

Investors take note: The company, currently hoping for $3 million in second round funding, is also looking for strategic partners in the US and Europe.

Dog lovers take note: No dogs were harmed in the making of this technology. All of the dogs involved came from animal shelters, and the company found them good homes when the testing was complete.

-read more in Nicky Blackburn’s Israel21c report