The Team
Over the past years several humans and dogs have contributed to the Dogosophy project. Here we wish to acknowledge the main contributors.
Researchers
Prof. Clara Mancini, Ph.D., is the founding head of The Open University's Animal-Computer Interaction Laboratory (ACI Lab) since 2011. The Dogosophy Button is her brainchild and she has led the development of the project from first ideation in 2013 to commercialisation in 2025. Over the years, Clara has conducted and supervised research on the project, working with the team and external partners to achieve the Button's final version.
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Dr. Luisa Ruge, did her Ph.D. at the ACI Lab and worked on the project as a doctoral researcher from 2017 to 2021. She conducted quantitative and qualitative evaluation studies on the Button's early design, and iteratively developed and evaluated the design's second generation. Her work was instrumental to the project's development and her design directly informed the final version of the Button.
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Dr. Rachael Luck, Ph.D., co-supervised Luisa's doctoral research on the project from 2017 to 2021, providing essential guidance on the development of empirical studies.
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Dr. Patrizia Paci, Ph.D., joined the project as a research associate and lead coordinator on the project’s impact activities in January 2020.
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Elizabeth Cox was visiting fellow on the project from 2018 to 2020. She conducted quantitative evaluation studies on the Button's early design.
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Sha Li was an intern on the project in 2016. She conducted the first qualitative evaluation studies on the Button's early design.
Technical Support
The Dogosophy Button project received technical support from The Open University's STEM Labs. In particular, the work of Jose Valencia and Brendan Aengenheister, from 2014 to 2016, was instrumental to the development of early prototypes.
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The project also received support from Mike Vanis and Andy Sheen of VAST, who developed second and third generation prototypes from 2019 to 2023.
Partners
Dogs for Good are a leading UK Charity, training assistance dogs and partnering them with people who experience different kinds of challenge and whose lives are transformed by their canine companions. Dogs for Good have been an invaluable partner in the Dogosophy project, participating in evaluation studies with their clients, supporting design workshops and providing feedback and enthusiastic support for the research all along.
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Petplan Charitable Trust is a leading UK Charity providing much needed funds to promote the health and welfare of animals, by awarding grants for projects that advance both animal welfare and positive human animal relations. Pertplan Charitable Trust funded Luisa's doctoral research, thus enabling us to significantly advance the project.
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The Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF) supports knowledge exchange between higher education providers and the wider world that benefits society and the economy. Over the years, HEIF has provided support for the project's knowledge exchange, impact and commercialisation activities.
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Ravencourt Ltd. is a British company that offers a wide range of products for independent living, providing a meaningful impact to the user’s life. Ravencourt is the Dogosophy Button's distributor.