undefined
Scientists are using digital technology to revolutionise animal communication and move towards an “animal internet”, using new products such as phones for dogs and touchscreens for parrots.
Experiments by Glasgow university have enabled several species, from parrots and monkeys to cats and dogs, to enjoy long-distance video and audio calls. They have also developed technology for monkeys and lemurs in zoos to trigger soothing sounds, smells or video images on demand.
Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, who heads the university’s Animal-Computer Interaction Group, started by developing a DogPhone that enables animals to contact their owners when they are left alone.
Her pet labrador Zack calls her by picking up and shaking an electronic ball containing an accelerometer. When this senses movement, it sets up a video call on a laptop, allowing Zack to interact with her whenever he chooses. She can also use the system to call him. Either party is free to pick up or ignore the call.
undefined
Hirskyj-Douglas now plans to use a €1.5mn European Research Council grant to “fundamentally reshape how animals implement control over their environment and provide radically different opportunities for social connections”.
“We plan to move beyond simple video calling and really enable animals to do things interactively,” she said, speaking at the British Science Festival in Liverpool on Thursday.
A collaboration with Northeastern University in the US has pioneered long-distance communications between pet parrots, which typically live alone in their owners’ homes though their counterparts in the wild typically socialise within large flocks.
When a parrot wanted to connect with a distant friend, a touchscreen showed a selection of other birds available online. The parrots learned to activate the screen, designed specially for them, by touching it gently with their tongues rather than pecking aggressively with their beaks.
“We had 26 birds involved,” said Hirskyj-Douglas. “They would use the system up to three hours a day, with each call lasting up to five minutes.” The interactions ranged from preening and playing with toys to loud vocal exchanges.
“When we went through the data, we found that most of these parrots had favourite friends,” said Hirskyj-Douglas.
Their human owners reported that the birds seemed happier when they could interact online with other parrots and not just with people.
“Today, we meet the basic needs of pets and zoo animals for food, care and enrichment in various different ways,” said Hirskyj-Douglas. “But we’re missing these larger opportunities to make more use of their cognitive abilities and meet their social needs.”
With a future animal internet, she added, “We can start to imagine a totally different world. We can start to see animals, potentially at home, developing friendships with each other across the world.”