Animal Computer Interaction

You’ve heard of Human Computer Interaction (HCI), now get ready for Animal Computer Interaction (ACI). Ilyena has made a career developing computer interfaces for non-human animals. She has worked with dogs, parrots, primates, and even giraffes. This is challenging because animals have a wide range of abilities and preferences. Parrots, for example, use their tongues to make selections on touchscreens. Listen in on our conversation and learn about interface development and testing with animals and how technology may improve animal welfare.

Guest

Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas: Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas develops interactive computer systems for animals to control their environment and access the internet. With a central focus on animals’ well-being and agency, her work investigates how animals can use computers to control their environment and connect with each other, how to design interfaces for animal affordances and what insights we can learn from these endeavours towards supporting their lives. She is the director of the Animal-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Glasgow and an Assistant Professor in Glasgow’s Computer Science Department. Ilyena and her team have created and deployed technologies for animals in people’s homes and zoos internationally.