Intelligent Playful Environments for Animals

We are evolving towards an interconnected and ubiquitous world, where digital devices and interfaces progressively adapt themselves to fit our needs and ease our daily activities. Although we coexist with plenty of animal species, such as our pets, we are approaching the evolution of technology in a strictly human-centric manner. A new field in Computer Science, called Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI), aims at filling this technological gap by developing systems and interfaces specifically designed for animals. Supporting animals' natural behavior and habits with suitable technology could improve both humans and animals' wellbeing. As a consequence, this doctoral research aims to explore, design and develop animal-centered intelligent systems that focus on enhancing one of the most natural animal behaviors: play. Therefore, the main goal of this research is to expand ACI with the ability of automatically manage and adapt animals play activity in order to improve their wellbeing.