1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of detection systems and, more particularly, to a detection system that employs trained/in training animals electronically linked to a handler/analyzer.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The ability to rapidly and effectively detect target substances is a foundational effort of law enforcement and commercial efforts around the world. Trafficking of narcotics, other banned substances and even people is on the rise. Drugs, weapons, currency, banned foodstuffs, chemicals and/or illegal aliens are transported across national borders on a daily basis. In addition to cross border trafficking, many illegal substances are produced/grown within national borders. In the United States, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Department of Homeland Security and other state and local authorities are in a constant battle to stem the flow and production of banned substances into and among the states.
Federal and local law enforcement agencies fight a constant battle to conserve time and resources in their efforts to find lost people and to investigate property crimes such as arson. The EPA reflects an increasing concern with the potential for people to be exposed to indoor contaminants such as molds or pesticides. Commercial enterprises provide identification and treatment of termites while hospitals provide early identification of cancers such as bladder cancer. The method used in common by all these agencies and organizations is the use of detector dogs or canines trained to identify target odors associated with banned substances, other illegal activity or substances of interest.
Because of the operational context and/or accepted custom, detector dogs are most often used in direct concert with an individual handler who is either tethered to the dog by a lead or at least in extremely close proximity to a dog working off-lead. In either case, the purpose is to put the human operator, i.e., handler, in a position to immediately control the dog, and to interpret the dog's response to olfactory stimuli. In essence, the handler is the transducer of signals from the dog. This paradigm for employing detector dogs is effective and considered best practice in many detection tasks. However, such a paradigm can also introduce problems in performance or in maintenance of proper training. Occasionally, the handler will misinterpret responses from the dog resulting in pulling the dog away when an actual detection is made or rewarding the dog when no target odor is truly present.
Equally as important, all dogs are trained by humans to perform their conditioned response to odor stimulus. Training, especially initial training, is conducted on leash, with the trainer observing the dog carefully so as to time reinforcement or reward simultaneously with the initial change in behavior by the dog. When those initial changes are not observed or are misinterpreted, the reinforcement given to the dog is inaccurate or untimely. Either result creates confusion or erroneous training for the dog, increasing the time required to train the dog, creating the opportunity for spontaneous recovery of inaccurate training and in some case causing the dog to become a training failure.
Based on the above, there exists a need for improvements in using canines, or other animals, as detection systems. More specifically, there exists a need for a detection system that aides a handler's/trainer's understanding and interpretation of response signals exhibited by the trained canine or other animal.