Animal Computer Interaction
In this episode, we are joined by Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, an Assistant Professor at the University of Glasgow’s Computer Science Department. She also runs the Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI) research group. She joins us to discuss her research on developing technological interfaces for parrots and dogs.
Ilyena begins by discussing what ACI is. She discussed how researchers in ACI get feedback from their technologies. She gave examples of animals' needs, prompting the need for ACI-driven solutions.
Ilyena discussed how she designed a technology that allowed parrots to communicate virtually over a video call or through a video recording. She discussed the process of creating the technology interface. She revealed some interesting findings from that research, including factors that affect how the parrots use the technology.
She shared additional work needed to roll out the technology to the public. She also shared how she and her team measured the parrot's behaviors.
Ilyena also discussed her other research, which allows dogs to interact online. She shared future research directions for her.
Papers in focus
- Birds of a Feather Video-Flock Together: Design and Evaluation of an Agency-Based Parrot-to-Parrot Video-Calling System for Interspecies Ethical Enrichment.
- Forming the Dog Internet: Prototyping a Dog-to-Human Video Call Device
- On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Dog... Unless You're Another Dog
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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.
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