Remote interspecies interactions: Improving humans and animals wellbeing through mobile playful spaces

[EN] Play is an essential activity for both humans and animals as it provides stimulation and favors cognitive, physical and social development. This paper proposes a novel pervasive playful environment that allows hospitalized children to participate in remote interspecies play with dogs in a dog daycare facility, while it also allows the dogs to play by themselves with the pervasive system. The aim of this playful interactive space is to help improving both children¿s and animal¿s wellbeing and their relationships by means of technologically mediated play, while creating a solid knowledge base to define the future of pervasive interactive environments for animals.This work is supported by the European Development Regional Fund (EDRF-FEDER), Spain and Spanish MINECO (TIN2014-60077-R). The work of Patricia Pons is supported by the Spanish MECD (FPU13/03831). Special thanks to the dogs and children who participated in our study, the dogs' owners and the children's families. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the teachers of the Unidad Pedagogica Hospitalaria La Fe and Oncologia Pediatrica La Fe and also Olga and Astrid from Buma's Doggy Daycare facility, for their invaluable support, collaboration and dedication.Pons Tomás, P.; Carrion-Plaza, A.; Jaén Martínez, FJ. (2019). Remote interspecies interactions: Improving humans and animals wellbeing through mobile playful spaces. Pervasive and Mobile Computing. 52:113-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmcj.2018.12.003S1131305

DoggyVision: Examining how Dogs (Canis familiaris) Interact with Media using a Dog-Driven Proximity Tracker Device

With screen technology becoming ubiquitously embedded into our homes, these screens are often in places where they can be viewed by domestic dogs (Canis familiaris); however, there is a lack of research showing to what extent, and for how long, dogs attend to media on screens. One pressing question is to understand if a dog, given the opportunity, would or could control its own viewing. This paper describes a prototype system (DoggyVision) that gives control to a dog in regard to the turning on and off of a TV screen in order to study activation with screen media in home settings. The system is used with two dogs to explore the interaction modalities between machine and dog. DoggyVision is shown to be non-invasive for the dog and easy to use in the home. Recordings show that dogs did attend to the screen but did not appear, in this study, to change their activation behaviors around the TV screen between being in no control (week 1), and in some control (week 2), of the TV media presentation. The study builds on ‘dog-centered’ methods to examine a dog’s behavior non-invasively demonstrating that useful data can be yielded from dog-driven devices within the home. For the Animal Computer Interaction community, this is the first system that allows the dog to trigger the activation of the device as the system records the activation automatically

Seven Years after the Manifesto: Literature Review and Research Directions for Technologies in Animal Computer Interaction

As technologies diversify and become embedded in everyday lives, the technologies we expose to animals, and the new technologies being developed for animals within the field of Animal Computer Interaction (ACI) are increasing. As we approach seven years since the ACI manifesto, which grounded the field within Human Computer Interaction and Computer Science, this thematic literature review looks at the technologies developed for (non-human) animals. Technologies that are analysed include tangible and physical, haptic and wearable, olfactory, screen technology and tracking systems. The conversation explores what exactly ACI is whilst questioning what it means to be animal by considering the impact and loop between machine and animal interactivity. The findings of this review are expected to form the first grounding foundation of ACI technologies informing future research in animal computing as well as suggesting future areas for exploratio

Measuring Behavior 2018 Conference Proceedings

These proceedings contain the papers presented at Measuring Behavior 2018, the 11th International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research. The conference was organised by Manchester Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Noldus Information Technology. The conference was held during June 5th – 8th, 2018 in Manchester, UK. Building on the format that has emerged from previous meetings, we hosted a fascinating program about a wide variety of methodological aspects of the behavioral sciences. We had scientific presentations scheduled into seven general oral sessions and fifteen symposia, which covered a topical spread from rodent to human behavior. We had fourteen demonstrations, in which academics and companies demonstrated their latest prototypes. The scientific program also contained three workshops, one tutorial and a number of scientific discussion sessions. We also had scientific tours of our facilities at Manchester Metropolitan Univeristy, and the nearby British Cycling Velodrome. We hope this proceedings caters for many of your interests and we look forward to seeing and hearing more of your contributions

Interactive Digital Gameplay Can Lower Stress Hormone Levels in Home Alone Dogs — A Case for Animal Welfare Informatics

Part 1: Full papersInternational audienceSocial isolation, when owners are not home, is a major stressor for dogs leading to separation anxiety and related behavioral and physiological issues. We investigate whether a digital interactive game requiring no human interference reduces stress response in dogs when isolated. An interactive game was developed specifically for canines. Dogs were domestically tested, totaling 15 days with and 15 days without the game. Twice-daily saliva samples were analyzed for cortisol stress hormone concentrations; ethograms were constructed. Combined data confirm that digital interactive games can lessen physiological and behavioral stress responses in dogs, and that the effect is modulated by a dog’s personality

University catalog, 2016-2017

The catalog is a comprehensive reference for your academic studies. It includes a list of all degree programs offered at MU, including bachelors, masters, specialists, doctorates, minors, certificates, and emphasis areas. It details the university wide requirements, the curricular requirements for each program, and in some cases provides a sample plan of study. The catalog includes a complete listing and description of approved courses. It also provides information on academic policies, contact information for supporting offices, and a complete listing of faculty members. -- Page 3

University catalog, 2015-2016

The catalog is a comprehensive reference for your academic studies. It includes a list of all degree programs offered at MU, including bachelors, masters, specialists, doctorates, minors, certificates, and emphasis areas. It details the university wide requirements, the curricular requirements for each program, and in some cases provides a sample plan of study. The catalog includes a complete listing and description of approved courses. It also provides information on academic policies, contact information for supporting offices, and a complete listing of faculty members. -- Page 4