Ananova:

Japanese inventors have come up with a device they claim can detect how a dog is feeling from its bark.

The Bowlingual Voice, by Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy, analyses a dog's bark and translates the findings into human words.

The gadget focuses on the detection of six emotions, including sadness, joy and frustration, alongside a repertoire of spoken phrases such as 'play with me'.

Bowlingual Voice will go on sale for £129 in Japan from next month and is a more technologically advanced version of a basic model launched seven years ago.

The gadget, which will be sold initially only in Japan, consists of a microphone which is placed around the dog's neck alongside a hand-held unit operating device.

When the dog barks, the microphone records the sound and sends the data to the owner's hand-held device which then 'translates' it into what the dog is apparently trying to say.

A speech synthesizer audibly informs the owner of the dog's apparent intentions as well as appearing on the screen of the wireless hand-held unit.

A new answering machine function can also record the dog's expressions of desire when owners are absent.

The original Bowlingual translated emotions onto a screen and was bought by more than 300,000 people in Japan. The new version was unveiled at the Tokyo Toy Fair.