Exploring human perceptions of dog-tablet playful interactions

Abstract

The increasing use of digital games for pets' enrichment and entertainment calls for better understanding of this phenomenon. While there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of pets "playing" digital games on computers, the nature of such interactions is yet to be understood. Humans - both pet owners and pet professionals, play a pivotal role in shaping the way pets interact with technology, both in terms of promoting pet-oriented technologies, as well as posing requirements for them. We present some first results of an exploratory empirical study of human perceptions and attitudes towards playful interactions of dogs with tablets.