Are Toxins Astir? Release the Hounds

In this short article of the New York Times, what is presented is very interesting; a breakthrough in technology. As known, robots are made in the toy industry as pets, for play purposes, and for small tedious tasks. These cheap toy robots are being upgraded and used in a recent study at Yale University for "sniffing" purposes. With the help of highschool students, Yale Univesity researchers have replaced the dogs front legs with two heavy-duty tires designed originally for remote-controlled cars. A smaller wheel took the place of the hind legs. Two round chemical sensors were installed on the dogs' lower jaws, so the sensors detect concentrations of toxic compounds. The new enhanced toy dog robots are being used as actual dogs in order to search for chemical toxins. Recently a team of researchers and students released these hounds into Cement Plant Park in the Bronx, NY to see how well it could sense toxins. Indeed it worked and the amont of the substance actually controlled how fast and what direction the dog would roam the park. Overall, people believe that these hounds are not worthy because they are just toys, but researchers argue they are used for a higher purpose. Toys are originally being used because it is more efficient and cheaper than starting from scratch. In summary, these toxin sniffing dogs prove that science is advancing daily and besides the occasional breakdowns from rain, the hounds can keep areas safer from harmful toxins.

Glassman, Mark. "Are Toxins Astir? Release the Hounds. The New York Times. 5 December 2007.