LOS ANGELES (AP) – Any worried pet owner who has spent days hanging posters, making phone calls and knocking on neighbors’ doors hopes there’s a more scientific way to find a lost dog.
That became a reality when facial recognition technology successfully reunited a pet at San Diego County Animal Services with its owners. Joanne Cox’s family in San Diego turned to FindingRover.com, a website and app that uses technology built by university researchers, to reconnect with their dog Roxy, a Shiba inu.
The website keeps a database of photos from the three county shelters and tries to match eight distinctive facial markers on dogs with images uploaded by users searching for lost pets. Eyes and noses are important areas that differentiate pooches, including eye size and their position near the snout.
FindingRover.com founder John Polimeno wants to expand the photo database to improve the odds of more happy endings, with shelters elsewhere set to sign on. He’s also showing it to rescues, veterinarians and dog groups and is visiting other countries.
The website is unique in using facial recognition but stands among many online tools people increasingly use to find lost pets. There are alarm systems, social media alerts and apps that post rewards or call people in neighborhoods.
via Picture It: Facial Recognition Software Helps To Find Lost Dogs « CBS Sacramento.
