Remote controlled cars will probably be incredibly boring after you play with a remote-controlled dog that is several miles away. The smart folks over at Auburn University have come up with a GPS backpack system that allows you to control specially trained dogs from a long distance. The backpack contains vibrating side panels and can emit tones to direct the dog and the inclusion of a high-resolution GPS system and radio modem means that the dog can be tracked and controlled from a remote computer quite accurately.

While animal rights supporters might balk at this, there are many advantages to such a system. Without being tethered to a human being, the dog will be able to move much faster and stealthily and mission ranges of three to four miles are definitely possible. Dogs are also able to negotiate obstacles in a way that robots aren’t able to do (just yet). It’s possible to also add a camera that will allow you to see what the dog is seeing and maybe some microphones that will transmit sounds that the dog is hearing.

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