Until now the usual way we identify dogs is with micro-chipping. In some countries it’s even the law. But a company from South Korea has developed an app that can identify dogs a little less invasively. On this phone, I’ve got the new app, PetNow, which is now using the dog’s nose print to identify a dog, just like you can use a fingerprint with a human to make identification. A dog’s nose print is very similar as well.
“Now show me your nose, buddy.” It takes me a few seconds to take pictures of the dog’s nose. “Oh yes, I made it, okay! Then who is the dog? Is it Emma, Lenard, Karl, or Ethan?”
The app analyses the data in the cloud and tells me that this is Emma, and not only that, it’s showing me that Emma’s been reported as missing. And it’s telling me where she was reported missing, and I can share my location with the owner, so they can be reunited.
Unlike a micro-chip, which could be cut out of a stolen dog, you can’t really remove a dog’s nose, not without spoiling the dog. And by using the phone’s camera to scan, anyone in theory can check a stray dog without any specialist equipment.
Recently, I’ve spoken to PetNow to find out why they’d settled on nose prints for dog recognition. There may be paws or ears, but some dogs really hate showing up, sharing their paws or their ears. Nose is actually exposed all the time. And after a dog become six months old the nose print stays there their entire life, so we believe that it is the best part for identification.
PetNow hopes its app will become mandatory in South Korea to help reduce the number of dogs that are abandoned by pet owners. To do that they will need the backing of government and a huge marketing push, so that everybody including people who don’t own a dog must install the app and know how to use it.
【小题1】Which can be inferred from the passage?| A．Dogs’ prints are very similar. |
| B．Micro-chipping a dog is out of date. |
| C．The app can map out a lost dog’s original place. |
| D．The app requires specialist equipment. |
| A．Because a micro-chip can be cut out. |
| B．Because some dogs hate showing up. |
| C．Because their nose print never changes. |
| D．Because their nose is easy to be photographed. |
| A．safe. | B．required. | C．professional. | D．easy. |
| A．Taking Pictures for Dog’s Nose. | B．Nose Print Technology on the Way. |
| C．PetNow Saves Abandoned Dogs. | D．PetNow Identifies Dogs with Nose Print. |
