Technology for Bonding in Human-Animal Interaction

This workshop focuses on the use and influence of technology on human-animal bonding, and how to facilitate them with technology. We explore the elements and characteristics of human-animal bonding, and how technology is connected to emotions and bonding between the human and the animal. We are particularly interested in animal's experiences, emotions, and welfare in bonding. The workshop facilitates discussion, creates a framework to support design activities, identifies future research themes, and creates ideas on facilitating the mutual bonding in human-animal interaction. The main focus is on dogs, but workshop aims is to pave way for further investigations and research with other domestic animals, such as cats, horses, and rabbits

Towards a Methodology for Data-Driven Automatic Analysis of Animal Behavioral Patterns

Measurement of behavior a major challenge in many animal-related disciplines, including ACI. This usually requires choosing specific parameters for measuring, related to the investigated hypothesis. Therefore, a key challenge is determining a priori what parameters are informational for a given experiment. The scope of this challenge is raised even further by the emerging computational approaches for animal detection and tracking, as automatizing behavioral measurement makes the possibilities for measuring behavioral parameters practically endless. This paper approaches these challenges by proposing a framework for guiding the decision making of researchers in their future data analysis. The framework is data-driven in the sense that it applies data mining techniques for obtaining insights from experimental data for guiding the choice of certain behavioral parameters. Here, we demonstrate the approach using a concrete example of clustering-based analysis of trajectories which can identify 'prevalent areas of stay' of the animal subjects in the experimental setting

Don't cut to the chase: hunting experiences for zoo animals and visitors

This workshop explores different ways to use technology to facilitate hunting behaviour enrichment for zoo-housed animals and parallel gaming experiences for zoo visitors

Exploring methods for interaction design with animals: a case-study with Valli

This case study describes our progress towards the goal of providing technology-enhanced enrichment for an Asian elephant so that she can exercise choice and control. We offer guidelines for developers to show how interaction design with a captive elephant might be approached

Salient features, combined detectors and image flipping: an approach to Haar cascades for recognising horses and other complex, deformable objects

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from ACM via the DOI in this record.The author describes a new ‘shortcut’ approach to automatically detecting horses in still images and video: salient features, combining and flipping. Horses are complex, deformable (non-rigid) target objects with high levels of intra-class shape variability. A prototype Haar cascade detector was trained to detect what the author calls a ‘salient feature’. This a distinctive, minimally changing physical attribute that is easily recognisable from multiple viewpoints. The detector’s target object is: ‘horse ears’ and it only required a total training time of 91 minutes. It was evaluated in combination with an existing, ‘asymmetric’ detector (trained only to recognise right-facing horses). By combining the existing horse detector with the author’s salient feature ears detector, the hit rate for true positives was increased by 50% (relative to the existing detector’s performance). Flipping each test image (or video frame) around its vertical axis increased the hit rate by 83% (relative to the unflipped results) for the existing, asymmetric detector, when tested on an image dataset of horses facing in both directions.The work described in this paper builds on an exploratory project funded by the EPSRC under Platform Grant 'Living with Digital Ubiquity ' reference: EP/M000877/1

Towards Multispecies Interaction Environments: Extending Accessibility to Canine Users

In this paper we discuss the role of mobility assistance dogs in human society and the challenges they face when operating in human environments. We present the findings of an ethnographic study at a training facility as well as the findings of early evaluations of canine-friendly switches. We discuss how the species-specific implementation of core interaction design principles could inform the design of interaction environments that better support these skilled workers

A Wearer-Centred Framework to Design for Wearability in Animal Biotelemetry

In a technological era, monitoring animals for scientific, husbandry, or caring reasons is often done by using tracking systems attached to the animals’ bodies. Remote data acquisition from animals has enhanced the knowledge about their biology and ecology. However, there is evidence that carrying biotelemetry tags affects the welfare of animal wearers and interferes with the validity of recorded data. On welfare and scientific grounds, animal scientists have advocated for the re-design of physical and functional aspects of tags, proposing guidelines aimed at minimising device-induced impacts. However, such guidelines are dispersed and difficult to apply systematically. Hence, there is a need for an approach to systematising the design of animal-borne tags in order to minimise their impact on the wearer. This thesis addresses such a challenge. It draws on the concept of wearability and proposes it as a design goal to develop devices that afford a better wearer experience (WX) for animals. The thesis develops a wearer-centred design framework (WCF) and applies it to demonstrate its usefulness to systematically design for good wearability. Specifically, after the framework’s elements were derived by analysing relevant information in the biotelemetry and interaction design literature, the framework was administered to teams of workshop participants who implemented it to perform a requirements analysis for a cat-tracking device. Workshop requirements served to produce a feline-centred prototype which was tested with cat wearers to investigate their experience of wearing it and thus evaluate its wearability. Outcomes show improvements of the prototype in relation to off-the-shelf devices which were tested in a parallel study. This study established a baseline for investigating a cat WX and highlighted various wearability issues with the off-the-shelf tags. Lastly, this research demonstrates that designers can systematically design for wearability using the WCF therefore supporting the thesis that the reduction of device-related impacts is achievable

User Experience for Elephants: Researching Interactive Enrichment through Design and Craft

This thesis explores the challenge for humans of designing and crafting interactive enrichment systems for elephants housed in captivity. Captive elephants may have limited opportunity to express a full range of natural behaviours and therefore benefit from well-designed environmental enrichment. We asked whether technology could support the design and development of novel enrichment for elephants and investigated what kinds of technology-enabled systems would hold their interest. Crucially, these systems were designed to provide the elephants with opportunities to make and enact choices – giving them more control over what happened in their environment. After researching wild elephant lifestyle and characteristics, our fieldwork started with an ethnographic study of captive elephants. We then followed an exploratory approach: Research through Design and Craft. Over several years, a range of interactive systems were crafted for elephants. Each device included embedded technology that enabled elephant interactions to be captured and mapped to associated system outputs. Elephants and their keepers were involved in this cyclical process, and the elephants’ reactions to the devices were noted and interpreted, giving rise to insights that informed the subsequent designs. Analysis of the design and development of the enrichment systems revealed important interface attributes and design considerations that we describe in this document. Finally, we offer five contributions for the ACI community: (i) Research through Design and Craft methodology, which was developed and tested over several years; (ii) ZooJam workshops, which were organised with colleagues over three years; (iii) six key principles of interaction design for ACI development – consistency, differentiation, graduation, specificity, multiplicity and affordance; (iv) an exploration of More than Human Aesthetics focusing on performative aesthetics; (v) a prototype deck of Concept Craft Cards that share theoretical and practical topics with other designers and developers

Animal-Computer Interaction: Designing Specialised Technology with Canine Workers

This thesis reports on research underpinning the design of a canine-centred dog-to-human communication technology, specifically an emergency alarm system that enables trained assistance dogs to call for help on behalf of their owners. Thousands of vulnerable people worldwide living with conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes or limited mobility, rely on assistance dogs to help them in their daily lives. When, for various reason, the human becomes incapacitated, such as when they are experiencing an epileptic seizure, have fallen, or have gone into a hypoglycaemic coma, it is down to their dog to take action to resolve the situation. Interactive technology can provide an assistance dog with the means to raise the alarm and summon help, but in order to enable them to independently and successfully engage with an alarm, it is critical that they are able to make sense of when and how to use the device to increase their chances of successful interaction. Thus, the research presented here aimed to understand the factors that might influence the dog’s ability to successfully interact with the system we undertook to design. Our initial design was informed by various biological, cognitive, and ergonomic considerations of dogs. We then elicited specific requirements for a canine emergency communication system by observing training practices to learn how trainers communicate with the dogs; interviewing human-dog partnerships to understand their needs; and engaged in rapid prototyping sessions with the dogs to identify their preferences. Using these requirements, we developed several high-fidelity prototypes, which we tested with assistance dog users and their handlers, to identify which design features might best facilitate the dog’s interaction with the device, and in turn enable the design of the training process through which the dogs learn to use the device as independent agents. This led to the practical observation that for many assistance dogs, using an interface that allows them to bite an attachment with their mouth and tug it until it detaches was easy for them to learn to use. We found that when designing technology for assistance dogs, researchers need to consider to what extent the dogs might be expected to drive the interaction and that researchers need to design not only to support the interaction itself but also to facilitate the training process that will eventually lead to the dogs being able to interact with the technology