Latest news with #NationalIntellectualPropertyAdministration
Economic Times
10-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Can AI help you talk to your pet? China's Baidu wants to turn barks and meows into human language
The Race to Decode the Animal Kingdom iStock Data would be fed into an AI system trained to assess an animal's emotional state. Still in the Lab, But Wagging Tails of Interest Other Ears in the Game Whispers of Doubt Amid Barks of Excitement The Bark Heard Around the World? Imagine your dog telling you they're lonely, or your cat expressing disdain not just with a hiss, but in plain English. That sci-fi fantasy could soon become reality thanks to Chinese tech behemoth Baidu , which is aiming to decode the language of animals using artificial intelligence. In a move that sounds straight out of a futuristic novel—or a Pixar movie—the Beijing-based company has filed a patent to translate barks, meows, grunts, and even body language into human ambitious project isn't just about sound. The patent, filed with China's National Intellectual Property Administration, outlines a system that collects and processes a spectrum of animal behavior. It includes vocalizations, changes in body language, and biological signals—everything from tail wags to nervous of this data would be fed into an AI system trained to assess an animal's emotional state. From there, these feelings would be translated into semantic meaning—potentially giving pets the power to 'talk' in languages like Chinese or English. Baidu promises the system will 'allow deeper emotional communication and understanding between animals and humans,' ushering in a new era of cross-species Baidu has acknowledged the buzz around its patent, the project remains firmly in the research phase. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the filing, stating that the invention has sparked 'a lot of interest,' but there's no product just hasn't stopped speculation about what the final form could look like. Industry experts like James Bore, from Bores Group consultancy, suggest the tech might land as an app: point your phone at your pet, record their antics, and receive a running translation of what they're 'saying.' Whether it's 'Feed me, now!' or 'Stop calling me a good boy when I'm clearly a great one,' pet owners may soon know exactly what their furry companions are to the Daily Mail, Baidu isn't the only group listening in. The Earth Species Project, backed by tech titans like LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, has been trying to crack the code of interspecies communication since 2017. Meanwhile, Project CETI has spent years analyzing the speech-like clicks of sperm whales, and Danish scientists recently managed to interpret pig grunts as emotional expressions using sets Baidu apart is the scale—and the swagger. As one of China's leading AI developers, Baidu has heavily invested in large language models, including its own 'Ernie 4.5 Turbo,' an ambitious rival to OpenAI's ChatGPT. While the chatbot hasn't dethroned its American counterparts yet, Baidu's bold foray into the animal world signals that the company is thinking beyond human announcement has lit up Chinese social media, with curious pet lovers debating the possibility of real-time dog-to-human dialogue. On platforms like Weibo, reactions range from delighted anticipation to eyebrow-raising scepticism.'It sounds impressive, but we'll need to see how it performs in real-world applications,' one user posted. Others pointed out that current translation apps for pets are often gimmicky and inaccurate, raising concerns that Baidu's version could ride the AI hype without delivering the echoed the sentiment, saying Baidu's system might initially resemble other 'low-quality' apps already on the market, albeit with a high-tech some may scoff, the implications of this technology are vast. If successful, Baidu's invention could revolutionize pet care, veterinary diagnostics, wildlife research, and even farming. It could also transform the emotional bond between humans and animals—from assumption to perhaps it's no coincidence that Baidu's logo features a dog's paw print. The company known for online searches might now be chasing a new kind of signal—the sound of empathy between this will result in meaningful conversation or just more bark than bite remains to be seen. But for now, the world waits with ears perked, tails wagging, and maybe—just maybe—a little hope of hearing their pet say 'I love you,' and knowing it's not just a you talk to your pet if you could?
NDTV
10-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
This AI Tool May Help Translate Your Dog's Barks Into Human Language
For any pet owner, understanding the meaning behind the barks and woofs of their dogs and cats can be a difficult task. Oftentimes, the situation turns frustrating despite having cared for the pet since they were little pups. To ease the problem, an artificial intelligence (AI) tool may finally be on its way. A Chinese company called Baidu is planning to use AI to translate animal noises into human language. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the Beijing-based search engine company has filed a patent with the country's National Intellectual Property Administration for a new high-tech translation system. The translation tool works by collecting various types of data from a target animal, including "voice, body language, behavioural changes and other biological signs". Afterwards, the AI-powered application determines the "emotion" by analysing the data and converts it into a target language. As per the patent document, the system would allow "deeper emotional communication and understanding between animals and humans, improving the efficiency of cross-species communication". "There has been a lot of interest in the filing of our patent application," a Baidu spokesperson said, cautioning that the project was currently in the research phase. 'Currently, it is still in the research phase. As an AI company, we constantly look to apply new technologies across diverse use cases.' As per the publication, the patent was submitted in December but was only publicly published earlier this week. This is not the first time scientists have attempted to decode animal voices. A number of apps claiming to offer pet-to-human translations are available, but most of them are poorly rated and deemed rudimentary. In 2014, a Scandinavian research lab raised more than Rs 18.7 lakh ($22,000) for a device called No More Woof. However, the team said three years later that the 'project became too expensive to continue'.
