Monkey interacts with a computer interface in Finland zoo
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The test was conducted by the University of Glasgow’s Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas who said it was the first time the monkeys had actually been given an option. The white-faced sakis were played both sounds and videos on a touchscreen Amazon Primate media system which was positioned inside a tunnel in their enclosure.
The sounds and visuals ranged from rainfall to abstract shapes.
They were also shown moving images of nature – such as worms and underwater scenes.
Other times audio would be played, and this varied from traffic noises to music.
The player itself was triggered by the monkeys who prompted infrared sensors to get the videos working.
The videos would switch off, usually after a few seconds, when the animals lost interest.
Experts changed up the options for the sakis over a 32 day period.
During the first seven days, the tunnel was silent to allow them to get used to the device being there.
Then, for the remaining 18 days, they could choose between an audio and video stimulus which changed every few days.
According to The Sun, experts found the sakis opted for audio content slightly more, but not enough to say it was their preference.
The player is the latest development in ongoing zoo enrichment research from animal-computer interaction specialists at the University of Glasgow.
Doctor Hirskyj-Douglas, who led the research, said: “We have previously explored how monkeys interacted with video content and audio content, but this is the first time we’ve given the option to choose between the two.
“Our findings raise a number of questions which are worthy of further study to help us build effective interactive systems.
“Further study could help us determine whether the short interactions were simply part of their typical behaviour, or reflective of their level of interest in the system.
“Similarly, their varying levels of interaction over time could be reflective of how engaging they found the content, or simply that they were becoming habituated to the tunnel’s presence in their enclosure.
“While they chose audio more regularly than video, the results weren’t statistically significant enough for us to know for sure what they prefer.
“Animal-computer interaction is still an emerging field of research. The data we collected in this study will be part of further developments as we learn more about their habits and preferences.
“The ultimate goal for us is to bridge the gap between human understanding of how animals access and experience computer systems to create meaningful and relevant experiences for monkeys.”
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The project is a joint venture between Aalto University in Finland and the University of Glasgow.
Enrichment for monkeys who are not living in the wild is an important feature to keep them stimulated.
It is an important way to maintain both their physical and mental health.
Many zoos already use computer systems for gorillas, chimps and orangutans to choose a source of entertainment, so to speak.
For this experiment, each time the animals interacted with the system it automatically recorded what was playing, how long they spent in the interactive zone.
For seven days at the end of the experiment, the device was removed and the tunnel was returned to its former state.
According to the University of Glasgow, the sakis listened to music the most and watched the underwater video most frequently.
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