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Computer Mediated Remote Interaction Between Humans and Dogs

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Computer Mediated Remote Interaction Between Humans and Dogs Rover@Home: Computer Mediated Remote Interaction Between Humans and Dogs Benjamin Ishak Resner B.A. Physics, Cornell University, 1990 Submitted to the Program in Media Arts and Sciences, School of Architecture and Planning in Partial Fulfillment for the degree of Master of Science in Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology September 2001 © Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001 Author Benjamin Ishak Resner Program in Media Arts and Sciences August 10, 2001 Ceitified by Dr. Bruce Blumberg Associate Professor of Media Arts & Sciences Accegd by Dr. Andrew Lippman Chair, Department Committee on Graduate Studies Program in Media Arts and Sciences MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY OCT 12 2001 1 LIBRARIES Rover@Home: Computer Mediated Remote Interaction Between Humans and Dogs Benjamin Ishak Resner Submitted to the Program in Media Arts and Sciences, School of Architecture and Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Abstract In this thesis we create a method to allow dogs and humans to interact over the Internet. In particular, we generalize an established dog training technique known as "clicker-training" such that the remote and co-located interactions are reported by dog owners to be similar. In the process of creating this computer-mediated interaction, we learn what it means to design an interface for a creature with very different sensory modalities than humans. Dogs are not "furry humans" but entirely different creatures with very different perceptual, motor, and cognitive systems than humans. This work is significant because by systematically applying HCI design principles to non-humans, we include animals in the HCI community. This creates an opportunity for the evaluation of the generality of much HCI literature, as well as increasing the sources from which we can draw inspiration. Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Bruce Blumberg, Associate Professor of Media Arts & Sciences Rover@Home: Computer Mediated Remote Interaction Between Humans and Dogs Benjamin Ishak Resner Thkis Advisor Dr. Bruce Blumberg Associate Professor of Media Arts & Sciences MIT Media Laboratory rhesis Reader Dr. Hiroshi Ishii Professor of Media Arts & Sciences MIT Media Laboratory TheTs Reader Dr. Irene M. Pep erg Visiting Associate Professor at the MIT Media Laboratory Associate Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona, Tucson FM NO TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................... 8 2 BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION........................................................ 9 2.1 EMOTIONAL NEED FOR REMOTE DOG-HUMAN INTERACTION ...................... 9 2.2 INTELLECTUAL MERIT OF APPLYING HCI DESIGN TO NON-HUMANS........... 10 2.3 SOCIETAL TREND OF AFFORDING DOGS SIMILAR ENTITLEMENTS AS HUMANS 10 3 DESIGN GOALS AND METHODOLOGY ............................................... 12 3.1 SITUATING ANIMAL-COMPUTER INTERACTIONS IN AN HCI FRAMEWORK... 12 3.2 SCOPE ............................................................................................................. 14 3.3 HCI BACKGROUND APPLIED TO ANIMAL-COMPUTER INTERACTION DESIGN 15 3.3.1 PRELUDE TO UCD: ANIMAL TRAINERS AND INTERFACE DESIGNERS ............. 15 3.3.2 UCD AND NON-HUMAN ANIMALS ................................................................ 17 3.3.3 POST-U CD PARADIGM S................................................................................. 19 3.4 PREVIOUS WORK IN ANIMAL - COMPUTER INTERACTION .......................... 21 3.4.1 INTERFACE FOR ANIMAL COMMUNICATION................................................. 21 3.4.2 DUANE RUMBAUGH AND LANA .................................................................... 23 3.4.3 V IVARIUM PROGRAM ................................................................................... 23 3.4.4 DOLPHIN AND KEYBOARD RESEARCH........................................................... 24 3.5 DOG-HUMAN COMMUNICATION MODES....................................................... 24 3.5.1 A U D IO ............................................................................................................ 25 3.5.2 V ISION AND V IDEO .......................................................................................... 26 3.5.3 O LFACTION .................................................................................................... 29 3.5.4 T OUCH .......................................................................................................... 30 3.6 ASYMMETRIC INTERFACES: CREATING AN ARTIFACT FOR HUMAN - NON- HUMAN INTERACTION............................................................................................. 31 3.6.1 HUMAN-HUMAN ASYMMETRIC INTERACTION ............................................... 34 3.7 ESTABLISHED RITUALS AND TASK DOMAINS............................................... 35 3.8 LOw-TECH PROTOTYPE: CLICKER TRAINING ......................... 37 3.8.1 CLICKER TRAINING BACKGROUND .............................................................. 37 3.8.2 CLICKER TRAINING PROCESS........................................................................ 38 3.8.3 PARADIGM VERSUS IMPLEMENTATION: VARIETIES OF CLICKER TRAINING .... 40 3.9 CLICKER TRAINING AS DOG-HUMAN COMMUNICATION ............................. 41 3.10 CLICKER TRAINING AS COMPUTER INTERFACE ......................................... 42 3.10.1 HUMAN TO DOG COMMUNICATION................................................................ 43 3.10.2 DOG TO HUMAN COMMUNICATION................................................................ 44 4 DESIGN AND ISSUES OF SAMPLE IMPLEMENTATION ................... 45 4.1 IMPLEMENTATION .......................................................................................... 45 4.2 IMPLEMENTATION ISSUE: POTENTIALLY LONG LATENCY .......................... 48 4.2.1 THEORETICAL SOLUTION .............................................................................. 48 4.2.2 IMPLEMENTED SOLUTION ............................................................................. 50 4.2.3 TOTAL AUTOMATION.................................................................................... 51 4.3 IMPLEMENTATION ISSUE: LARGE BANDWIDTH REQUIREMENTS................ 51 4.4 IMPLEMENTATION ENHANCEMENT: LURING................................................ 53 4.5 IMPLEMENTATION ISSUE: POOR TIMING ..................................................... 54 5 RESULTS ................................. ............................................... ........ 54 5.1 MODES OF EVALUATION ................................................................................ 54 5.1.1 HUMAN REPORTING OF DOG INTERACTION ................................................... 54 5.1.2 PROFESSIONAL EVALUATION ........................................................................ 55 5.1.3 CORRESPONDENCE WITH CO-LOCATED ACTIVITY ..................................... 55 5.1.4 PHYSIOLOGICAL METRICS ............................................................................ 55 5.1.5 ELIMINATION OF BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS......................................................... 56 5.2 CLINICAL TRIALS............................................................................................ 56 5.2.1 TRIAL 1: SYDNEY AND BRUCE ........................................................................ 56 5.2.2 TRIAL 2: GEMINI DOG TRAINING CENTER ................................................... 59 5.2.3 GEMINI RESULTS CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................... 63 6 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................... 65 6.1 FUTURE TRIALS................................................................................................. 66 6.1.1 D ESIGN C HANGES ......................................................................................... 66 6.1.2 SETU P ............................................................................................................ 66 6.1.3 "CHARGE" THE FEEDER ................................................................................ 66 6.1.4 Do SOME CO-LOCATED CLICKER TRAINING ................................................... 66 6.1.5 "CHARGE" THE SPEAKER .............................................................................. 67 6.1.6 TRAIN BEHAVIORS ......................................................................................... 67 6.1.7 PROJECT OWNER PRESENCE.......................................................................... 68 6.2 APPLYING HCI TO ANIMALS - THREE "GOTCHAS" ................................... 68 6.2.1 GOTCHA 1: GIVING HUMAN TECHNOLOGY TO ANIMALS............................ 68 6.2.2 GOTCHA 2: DEVICES THAT LEAD TO HUMANLIKE INTERACTIONS............... 69 6.2.3 GOTCHA 3: DEVICES UNINTERESTING TO HUMANS ........................................ 70 6.3 ANALYSIS OF ROVER@HOME AS CO-LOCATED SUBSTITUTE...................... 71 6.4 Is ROVER@HOME A "TANGIBLE INTERFACE?".............................. 72 6.4.1 TUI FRAMEWORK .......................................................................................... 72 6.4.2 TU I A NALYSIS.............................................................................................. 75 6.5 ROVER@HOME AS A UBIQUITOUS INTERFACE .............................................. 75 7 APPLICATIONS .............................................................................................
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