The MIT Media Laboratory
Prof. Irene Pepperberg
Benjamin Resner
Spencer Lynn
Prof. Bruce Blumberg
Rachel Kline

InterPet Explorer
Building Interactive Environments for Grey Parrots

YTEAR CAEN PLIUIMEL T DPR NODOGames for humans are designed by observing
naturally occurring behaviors and recreatingthem in a synthetic environment. It’s nodifferent with parrots. We design softwareand hardware based on our understanding ofanimal behavior. Therefore, our creations are
more than just pet toys, but tools for gaining
insight into animal minds and motivations.
We are still in the early phases of thisresearch. We have constructed a “smartperch”, complete with controller, 17” LCD
screen, speakers and webcam. This perch
will serve as a hardware platform upon which
we will add iterations of software.
We are not trying to teach the bird how to“surf the net”. We are trying to give thesebirds a set of tools for interacting with theirenvironment.

How can technology improve the lives of companion animals andtheir “pet humans”?
We choose companion animals that are naturally social. When theseanimals are isolated all day they typically exhibit behavioral problems.
The Media Lab has a tradition of spreading technology to the poor andgeographically remote. There is no reason not to include animals in thisoutreach.
What do we hope to accomplish?
Research on animal-computer interfaces forces us to question assumptions
made during development of human-computer interfaces and may informour designs for hardware and software for humans, especially for children:
Like children, parrots do not read or write, have a limited vocabulary, aresocial creatures, and suffer if isolated.
By revisiting the issue of computer interfaces through the mindset of ananimal, we engage in a design exercise that questions our assumptions
about how brains and computers interact.

Why are we optimistic about results?

Previous work by Dr. Pepperberg with CRT screens demonstrates birds can recognize
artificially rendered images. LCD screens, because they are flicker-free, should provide aneven higher degree of clarity to avain eyes.
Some software applications we are developing for the birds:•Video and music browser•Acoustic mirror•Four note musical instrument•Image / Video feeds – including live video feed from wild parrots•Interactive puzzles and mazes•Colorful kaleidoscope•Tools for remote interaction with owner.
About Wart
Wart is a 2 year old African Grey parrot. His full name is Arthur, but we call him Wart after the nickname Merlingave the young King Arthur in “The Once and Future King”. He is on loan to the lab from Kim Gaudette.
Although parrot gender is difficult to determine and often requires DNA testing for certainty, Wart is believed to
be a male. Grey Parrots mate for life and can live to be 60 years old.

Grey parrots live in elaborate social groups in the wild and thus and naturally
seek other living creatures as companions, whether bird or human. We suggestthat intrinsically social, intelligent animals such as parrots--if given
appropriate tools--may, like humans, learn to augment the expression of theirnatural behaviors and play patterns through synthetic devices.

Why are computer scientists working with animals?
The Synthetic Characters group, headed by Prof. Blumberg, uses modelsof animal behavior to create believable autonomous characters that do theright thing in the right situations. Dogs, with lemon-sized brains, navigate
their world successfully and thrive in a complex environment. How dothey do this? Can we insert this intelligence into our computer characters?
We seek to understand animals in their natural complex social
environments rather than by learning about them only through psychology
textbooks and research papers describing reactions to laboratoryconditions. Working directly with live animals and animal trainers, wemaintain firsthand contact with the roots of our autonomous systems.