Leveraging technology to enrich animals' lives
PhD opening for fall 2025
Our Mission
We leverage technology to improve animals' experiences. We create novel ethical enrichment systems to increase animals' control over their physical and social environments, providing cognitive enrichment and enhancing interspecies connectedness.
Who We Are
We are an international team of researchers, scientists, and technologists uniquely experienced in developing technology for animal users. We are dedicated to using thorough academic methods to advance our understanding of animal needs and to deploying ethical, real-world applications.
Impact
Our lab collaborated with institutions, husbandry professionals, and industry leaders, to enhance animal life quality in zoos, homes, farms, and beyond. Our work also reshapes the dialogue on animals' social and cognitive needs, driving transformation in contemporary perspectives in animal care.
GLOBAL RECOGNITION
RESEARCH FOCUS
Currently, we are most passionate about innovating in the following research areas:
Mediated Interspecies Connection
Enriched Sonic/Vocal Applications
Ethics and Agency in Animal Technology
Design & Ergonomics of Animal Interfaces
RECENT UPDATES
More on our news page
RESEARCH FRAMING
Research Approaches
Inventing novel interactive systems, hardware, devices, and experiences to cater to animals’ needs
Designing and developing software, hardware, and experiences for various species.
Developing and exploring application areas in animal enrichment, and interspecies connection.
Creating interactive media art and installations.
Relevant Domains and Skills
HCI (Human Computer Interaction) and ACI (Animal Computer Interaction) methodologies
Interactive Devices & Computing
Novel User Experience Design
Haptic and Tactile Interfaces / Ergonomics Evaluation
Media Art / Entertainment Computing / Game Design
Study and Protocol Design
Fundings
Our Research is supported by Northeastern and Glasgow Universities, CAMD Seed grant, the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) and by the generous support of individual donors.
RESEARCH COLLABORATORS
We belong to — and partner with — institutions and associations around the globe to enhance animal life quality in zoos, homes, farms, and beyond
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
We actively engage with industry leaders to drive positive change. With a history of successful partnerships, we welcome a range of collaboration activities, including offering talks and keynotes, providing consulting on product design, ethical considerations, and animal agency, and participating in joint research ventures. We value efforts to reshape public perspectives on animals' social and cognitive needs. For requests, contact us at contact@interactanimallab.com
