Laser Designator Laser Pointer

Background information on guiding dogs with lasers Thanks to technological advances and the resulting increasingly powerful and robust laser systems, these can now also be used for numerous applications in environments that are hostile to technology (dirt, water, dust, heat, cold). One of these areas of application is the recent use of lasers in training programs and for training detection, hunting, rescue, protection, and assistance dogs. Lasers can be used to mark specific objects and positions within the dog handler's field of vision. The laser provides the dog with a visual stimulus, allowing it to be guided and directed precisely over long distances. The advantage of working with lasers is the distance between the handler and the dog while the dog is performing the actual task. This is especially true when there is a risk to humans or to the object being sought (e.g., evidence), or when environmental conditions, such as in disaster situations or the presence of obstacles, prevent humans from accessing the area. Depending on the specifications of the laser, both nearby and distant objects can be visibly marked and thus become the target for the dog. Important aspects in the directional guidance of dogs are the flexibility of the laser used in relation to the different distances and the intended use, as well as the eye safety of humans and animals, with consistently good visibility. The visual pigments of these two cone types are accordingly designated SWS1 (“short wavelength sensitive 1”) and LWS (“long wavelength sensitive”). During evolution, about 30 million years ago, the red cone developed within the human species through a duplication and subsequent mutation of the gene that is responsible for the LWS visual pigment of the green cone in other mammals. The green cone is, so to speak, present twice in humans, whereby the sensitivity of the LWS visual pigment of one of these cones is shifted towards longer wavelengths (perceived by humans as red). This results in up to ten times better visibility of the green wavelength spectrum compared to the red spectrum in humans. The common interface when selecting a suitable laser that is easily recognizable by both dogs and humans is therefore the wavelength range of approximately 500–600 nm. From a technical point of view, 520 nm diodes are ideal here, as they are also more resistant to external influences than the 532 nm lasers used to date. Once the dog has arrived at the marked position, it can perform a previously conditioned behavior. Working dogs are used by authorities, special forces, and commercial dog trainers worldwide to detect substances and odors of all kinds. These include human tracking dogs, police and military dogs used to detect drugs, explosives, and evidence, species tracking dogs used to detect species in different types of terrain, and hunting dogs. The use and training of such dogs and the associated autonomous search work, which is independent of the dog handler, requires not only clear criteria for the respective task, but also intensive training from the outset.