Interactive

 parrot  playgrounds  

 
 

 
Interaction  Design  Master’s  program  
Malmö  University  
 
 
 
 
Inge  van  Hoppe                              Supervisor:  
Thesis  project  1                    Jörn  Messeter  
 
 
 
 
2014  
 
  
Abstract  
It  is  a  challenging  interaction  design  task  to  design  for  and  with  animals,  especially  when  it  
comes  to  parrots  as  users.  Not  only  because  working  with  parrots  requires  a  lot  of  patience,  
but  also  because  there  is  very  few  related  work.  Parrots  are  highly  intelligent  and  that  is  
often  the  problem  when  they  are  being  kept  as  companion  animal.  Parrots  need  a  lot  of  
stimuli  to  trigger  their  intelligence  and  to  keep  them  busy,  to  avoid  serious  problems  such  as  
bad  behaviour  or  self-­‐mutilation.  
The  body  language  and  the  needs  of  one  parrot  were  the  main  input  and  formed  the  basis  
for  the  project.  Through  an  iterative  process  of  testing  a  variety  of  existing  applications,  
small  experiments  and  prototypes  with  a  parrot,  a  couple  of  interactive  playgrounds  have  
been  developed.
  
Acknowledgements  
I  would  like  to  show  my  gratitude  towards  Jörn  Messeter  who  helped  me  as  supervisor  
through  this  slightly  unusual  project  by  providing  me  with  helpful  feedback  and  suggestions.  
I  would  like  to  thank  my  parrot  for  his  participation,  as  he  gave  me  the  inspiration  to  conduct  
this  project.  Special  thanks  go  to  Clara  Mancini  and  Franck  Péron  for  giving  valuable  
feedback  on  my  project  and  process.
  
Contents  

1.  Introduction  ........................................................................................................  5  
1.1  Background  .........................................................................................................................  5  
1.2  Research  question  ...............................................................................................................  6  

2.  Methodology  .......................................................................................................  7  
2.1  Literature  review  .................................................................................................................  7  
2.2  Observations  and  video  ......................................................................................................  7  
2.3  Research  through  Design  ....................................................................................................  8  
2.4  Iterative  prototyping  ...........................................................................................................  8  
2.5  Input  researchers  ................................................................................................................  9  

3.  Research  framework  ..........................................................................................  10  

3.1  Parrots  ...............................................................................................................................  10  
3.2  Parrots  behaviour  .............................................................................................................  11  
3.3  Animal-­‐Computer  Interaction  ...........................................................................................  13  
3.4  Related  work  .....................................................................................................................  14  

4.  Exploring  interactions  ........................................................................................  18  

4.1  Parrot  +  Existing  applications  ............................................................................................  18  
4.2  Parrot  +  small  experiments  ...............................................................................................  22  
4.3  Parrot  +  prototypes  ...........................................................................................................  27  
4.3.1  Interactive  box  ...........................................................................................................  27  
4.3.2  Controlling  screen  with  physical  object  ......................................................................  30  
4.3.3  Video  player  ...............................................................................................................  32  
4.4  Feedback  from  experts  .....................................................................................................  34  

5.  Research  results  ................................................................................................  37  

5.1  Discussion  .........................................................................................................................  38  

6.  Future  work  .......................................................................................................  40  

7.  Knowledge  contribution  ....................................................................................  42  

References  ............................................................................................................  47  

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1.  Introduction  

Since  November  2013  I  am  the  proud  owner  of  a  baby  parrot.  Within  the  past  months  we  
worked  on  our  bond  and  by  now,  he  sees  me  as  his  partner.  Everyday  we  play  together  and  
during  this  playtime  he  is  allowed  to  play  outside  his  cage.  Like  every  other  baby,  he  is  
exploring  and  enlarging  his  environment  step  by  step  and  easily  distracted.  Because  of  our  
bond  he  is  especially  interested  in  what  I  am  doing  or  what  I  am  using:  keyboard,  mouse  and  
mobile  phone  are  not  safe  and  have  to  be  destroyed.  When  I  am  not  home,  he  entertains  
himself  with  the  toys  in  his  cage.  
My  parrot  seems  to  be  particularly  obsessed  with  my  mobile  phone,  which  has  a  silicon  case  
around  it  for  protection.  One  day  he  noticed  that  he  could  grab  this  case  at  certain  points  
(e.g.  adaptor,  headphones)  with  the  desire  to  destroy  it.  
During  one  of  these  play  sessions  I  noticed  something  interesting.  When  he  jumped  on  my  
hand,  to  have  a  better  grip  to  chew  on  the  mobile  case,  he  also  touched  the  screen.  It  
appeared  that  the  screen  responded  on  his  touch:  the  screen  swiped  to  the  right.  By  walking  
on  it,  certain  applications  opened  or  he  created  new  words  when  walking  on  the  keyboard.    
Because  of  his  interest  in  my  mobile  phone,  I  found  it  interesting  to  explore  these  
possibilities.  Can  I  enrich  my  parrot  with  the  use  of  a  touch  screen?    
 

1.1  Background  
“Interaction  Design  is  about  shaping  digital  things  for  people’s  use,”  according  to  Löwgren  
(Löwgren,  2013).  Interaction  Design  is  a  discipline  that  focuses  on  creating  (interactive)  
products  and  services  that  are  useful  and  meaningful  to  humans.  Interaction  design  is  part  of  
the  Human-­‐Computer  Interaction  (HCI)  field:  the  interaction  between  humans  and  
computers.  But  what  if  we  focus  on  animals  as  users  instead  of  humans?  What  if  we  create  
something  useful  and  meaningful  according  to  the  animals’  needs?  Can  we  still  call  it  
Interaction  Design?  
According  to  Mancini  (Mancini,  2013),  an  increasing  number  of  HCI  researchers  is  interested  
in  the  interaction  between  animals  and  computing  technology.  “The  main  question  is  
whether  interaction  design  research  which  does  not  primarily  focus  on  humans  is  relevant  to  
HCI  and,  if  so,  in  what  way.”  Therefore,  a  new  discipline  called  Animal-­‐Computer  Interaction  
(ACI)  has  been  introduced  within  the  HCI  field.  Mancini  (2013)  argues  “By  Animal-­‐Computer  

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Interaction  I  mean  the  explicit  and  systematic  application  of  design  principles  that  place  the  
animal  at  the  centre  of  an  iterative  development  process  as  a  legitimate  user  and  design  
contributor.  “  
One  of  the  aims  of  ACI  is  to  develop  user-­‐centred  technology  that  can  improve  animals’  lives  
by  supporting  the  fulfilment  of  their  needs.  That  is  my  intention  with  this  project.  
Parrots  in  captivity  need  a  lot  of  love,  attention  and  enrichment  to  keep  them  and  their  
minds  busy,  to  avoid  problems  such  as  bad  behaviour  or  even  feather  picking.  The  latter  is  a  
serious  problem  that  can  cause  irreversible  damage.  This  gave  me  the  inspiration  to  explore  
the  technological  possibilities  and  to  develop  a  playground  that  allows  my  parrot  to  enterain  
himself  with.
 

1.2  Research  question  

Can  we  develop  an  interactive  playground  for  a  parrot  with  the  use  of  technological  input?  
• How  to  get  a  parrot’s  attention  to  explore  touch  screen  possibilities?  

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2.  Methodology  

Animals  are  a  completely  different  and  somewhat  new  focus  group  within  Interaction  
Design.  It  is  important  to  keep  in  mind  that  we  should  design  something  that  is  based  on  
their  needs  and  interests.  The  aim  is  to  design  something  that  improves  their  quality  of  life.  
Designing  for  and  with  animals  is  certainly  not  easy.  Their  attention  span  is,  in  general,  
pretty  short,  which  makes  it  difficult  to  keep  them  interested  or  focussed.  Especially  
designing  for  a  parrot  requires  a  lot  of  patience  and  creativity.  
 

2.1  Literature  review  

First  I  have  a  look  at  the  available  literature.  I  will  focus  on  parrots  in  captivity,  since  they  
experience  the  most  problems.  What  are  the  risks  and  why  do  they  need  enrichment?  
Furthermore,  I  have  a  closer  look  at  the  characteristics  of  my  parrot  species,  to  develop  a  
playground  that  fits  his  needs.  Each  parrot  species  is  different  and  has  different  abilities.  
Some  parrots  are  predisposed  to  speak  human  language,  while  others  have  a  talent  for  
performing  tricks  or  being  very  active.  This  all  contributes  to  the  design.  I  will  look  at  his  
body  language  to  determine  how  he  feels,  so  I  will  pay  a  lot  of  attention  to  his  behaviour.    
Since  this  project  aims  to  combine  parrots  with  computing  technology,  I  also  look  at  Animal-­‐
Computer  Interaction.  What  does  it  stand  for  and  what  is  the  importance?  What  do  I  have  to  
keep  in  mind  when  designing  for  animals?  At  last,  I  will  search  for  some  examples  that  
correspond  to  my  project  to  find  out  what  has  already  been  done.    
 

2.2  Observations  and  video  

Close  observations  of  my  parrot’s  behaviour  during  the  project  are  the  main  input  to  collect  
data.  Other  methods  that  are  normally  used  in  an  Interaction  Design  project,  such  as  
interviews  or  surveys  are  obviously  not  an  option.  Based  on  his  body  language,  I  will  be  able  
to  tell  of  if  he  is  happy,  interested  or  annoyed  during  user  testing.  All  the  prototypes  will  be  
made  according  to  his  interest  or  disinterest.  His  feedback  will  guide  me  through  the  project  
and  it  will  lead  to  a  couple  of  different  project  outcomes.  
Testing  with  an  animal  requires  a  lot  of  attention:  I  will  need  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  
prototype  or  device,  I  have  to  look  at  my  parrot  and  his  behaviour  and  I  will  record  the  

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testing.  That  is  a  lot  going  on  at  the  same  for  one  designer.  By  recording  the  testing,  I  create  
the  ability  to  review  the  user  testing  at  a  later  time.  Thus,  during  the  test  I  can  focus  on  the  
playground  and  review  his  behaviour  afterwards.  These  videos  will  play  an  important  role  
during  the  whole  process,  as  they  will  guide  me  to  the  next  step  in  the  process.  
 

2.3  Research  through  Design  

In  this  project  I  use  a  Research  through  Design  (RtD)  approach  to  gather  my  knowledge.  In  
my  opinion,  this  seems  the  most  appropriate  approach  to  perform  this  project.  Since  there  
are  probably  not  much  related  projects,  I  have  to  create  my  own  research  by  testing  
different  prototypes  in  an  iterative  process.  In  short  RtD  means  gaining  new  knowledge  by  
creating  and  that  is  what  I  will  do  in  this  project.  
According  to  Zimmerman  (Zimmerman,  J.  et  al.,  2010)  “Research  through  design  is  a  
research  approach  that  employs  methods  and  processes  from  design  practice  as  a  legitimate  
method  of  inquiry”.  Obrenovíc  (Obrenovíc,  Ž.,  2011)  argues,  “Design-­‐based  research  can  
produce  knowledge  that  normally  could  not  be  generated  by  theoretical  analysis  or  
traditional  empirical  approaches.”  
 

2.4  Iterative  prototyping  

 
During  the  whole  project  I  use  the  iterative  design  method  to  find  out  what  he  likes,  dislikes  
or  what  he  prefers.  I  create  a  prototype,  introduce  it  to  him,  analyse  his  behaviour,  refine  
the  prototype  based  on  the  expressed  behaviour  and  I  introduce  it  again.  Each  conducted  
test  lead  to  new  questions  and  to  new  prototypes.  Performing  this  methodology  will  give  me  
a  lot  of  insights  during  the  process  that  I  otherwise  will  not  find.  
“Iterative  design  is  a  design  methodology  based  on  a  cyclic  process  of  prototyping,  testing,  
analysing,  and  refining  a  work  in  progress.  In  iterative  design,  interaction  with  the  designed  
system  is  used  as  a  form  of  research  for  informing  and  evolving  a  project,  as  successive  
versions,  or  iterations  of  a  design  are  implemented,”  according  to  Zimmerman  (Zimmerman,  
E.,  2003).  
Nielsen  (Nielsen,  J.,  1993)  argues,  “Iterative  development  of  user  interfaces  involves  steady  
refinement  of  the  design  based  on  user  testing  and  other  evaluation  methods.  Ideally,  each  

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iteration  would  be  better  than  the  previous  version,  but  this  is  not  always  true  in  practice.  
Some  changes  in  an  interface  may  turn  out  not  to  be  improvements  after  all.”  
 

2.5  Input  researchers  

Because  this  project  focuses  on  a  relatively  new  area  within  animal  computing,  I  will  
approach  two  researchers,  Dr  Clara  Mancini  from  Animal-­‐Computer  Interaction  and  Dr  
Franck  Péron,  an  Animal  Scientist  that  performed  a  study  with  parrots,  later  in  this  project.  
That  gives  me  the  opportunity  to  carry  out  my  project,  which  I  will  record  on  video,  and  ask  
their  feedback  based  on  my  recordings.  That  will  give  us  a  better  basis  for  discussion  and  
reflection  that  I  can  use  as  input  for  my  conducted  project.  This  discussion  will  probably  take  
place  through  Skype.    
 

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3.  Research  framework  

Exploring  the  possibilities  between  parrots  and  computer  devices  seems  not  to  be  very  
common  within  Interaction  Design.  Therefore,  there  is  not  a  lot  of  existing  research  in  this  
particular  area.  In  order  to  understand  more  about  animals  and  technology,  I  will  have  a  
closer  look  at  parrots,  Animal-­‐Computer  Interaction  and  a  few  touch  screen  related  projects.    
 

3.1  Parrots  
Keeping  a  parrot  as  a  companion  animal  is  not  that  easy  and  is  often  underestimated  by  
people.  According  to  Dr.  Irene  Pepperberg,  adjunct  professor  of  psychology  at  Brandeis  
University,  "People  often  buy  parrots  because  they  think  of  them  as  low  maintenance  pets.  
They  think  they  can  put  them  in  a  cage,  hang  a  toy,  put  in  a  bowl  of  seeds  and  that's  it.  They  
don't  realize  how  intelligent  these  birds  are  and  how  much  social  interaction  they  need"  
(Yin,  2000).  
In  contrast  to  dogs  and  cats,  parrots  are  not  domesticated  animals.  Even  born  in  captivity  
they  still  remain  wild.  By  taking  a  parrot  out  of  his  natural  habitat  and  into  our  homes,  we  
take  away  a  lot  of  its  daily  activities;  he  has  a  safe  place,  food  at  regular  times  and  is  most  of  
the  time  alone.    
With  the  lack  of  these  daily  needs,  boredom  sets  in  and  that  is  the  worst  thing  that  can  
happen  to  a  captive  parrot.  Boredom  can  cause  many  behavioural  problems;  screaming,  
biting  and  aggression  are  only  a  few  examples  of  problems  a  parrot  can  deal  with.  
On  the  more  extreme  side,  feather  plucking  and  self-­‐mutilation  can  been  found.  These  two  
problems  are  often  compared  with  stress  and  fear  (Sweat,  2013).  This  is  very  heart  breaking,  
because  this  is  not  natural  behaviour.  They  will  not  pluck  their  feathers  or  bite  off  their  own  
limbs  in  nature.  The  main  reason  for  this  behaviour  is  a  desperate  call  for  attention,  although  
poor  dietary  or  diseases  can  also  cause  feather  plucking.  
Parrots  kept  in  captivity  need  entertainment  and  enrichment  to  fill  their  days  and  keep  them  
busy.  Unfortunately,  a  lot  of  parrots  end  up  in  rescues,  sanctuaries  and  adoption  because  
their  guardians  are  unable  to  fulfil  their  needs.  
 

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Caiques  
My  parrot  belongs  to  the  species  ‘Caiques’  (pronounced  as  kai-­‐eeks):  medium-­‐sized  parrots  
from  South  America  with  two  subspecies:  the  White-­‐bellied  Caique  and  the  Black-­‐headed  
Caique.  My  parrot  is  a  White-­‐bellied  Caique.  
Caiques  are  very  playful,  energetic  birds  that  love  to  be  the  centre  of  attention.  They  are  not  
considered  a  beginner  bird,  because  of  their  strong  personality  and  ability  to  become  
aggressive  when  timidly  handled.  They  can  be  stubborn,  beaky  and  dominant.  On  the  other  
hand,  they  can  form  strong  bonds  with  their  human  guardians,  who  provide  them  with  love  
and  affection  (Kalhagen,  2008).    
Caiques  are  very  intelligent  birds  and  like  to  learn  tricks.  On  Youtube,  a  variety  of  Caique  
videos  can  be  found.  For  instance,  Daedalus  putting  rings  on  a  peg  (Caroline  Moore,  2007),  
Heibel  showing  her  first  tricks  (TheKimages,  2012),  Daedalus  putting  coins  in  a  piggy  bank  
(Caroline  Moore,  2008),  Caiques  playing  basketball  (tomirene2000,  2014)  and  even  a  Caique  
shopping  with  a  basket  (onon642,  2010).  
They  need  a  lot  of  playtime  and  training  can  help  to  prevent  boredom.  Training  enriches  
them  with  new  play  possibilities.  Because  they  are  so  energetic,  training  can  also  help  in  
handling  these  birds.  They  are  known  as  ‘clowns’  among  parrots,  because  they  love  to  show  
off  their  tricks  and  are  very  outgoing  birds.  A  unique  fact  is  that  Caiques  often  prefer  to  walk  
or  ‘hop’  rather  than  to  fly.  They  are  not  known  for  being  good  talkers,  but  have  a  talent  in  
mimicking  environment  sounds.  

3.2  Parrots  behaviour  

Parrots  do  not  only  use  vocalizations,  but  also  their  bodies  to  communicate  their  mood,  
emotions  and  forthcoming  behaviour  to  humans.  By  having  a  closer  look  at  the  parrot’s  
posture  it  is  possible  to  tell  what  the  parrot’s  feeling  is.  Reading  my  parrot’s  body  language  
will  help  me  to  determine  how  my  parrot  feels  during  the  project.  His  behaviour  is  as  
follows:  
 
Vocalizations  
• Talking,  singing  and  whistling  
These  are  signs  of  a  happy  and  content  bird.  When  my  parrot  does  this  he  is  in  a  
good  mood  and  enjoys  what  he  is  doing  or  watching.  My  parrot  cannot  talk  in  

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 ‘human  language’  but  he  mimics  or  create  his  own  sounds.  He  communicates  with  
me  by  talking  or  whistling  to  me.  Sometimes  he  tries  to  mimic  some  sounds  that  I  
make.    
• Chattering  
Soft  chattering  means  my  parrot  is  content  and  has  a  good  time.  Sometimes  he  will  
also  do  it  when  he  is  sleepy.  Loud  chattering,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  form  of  
attention.  
• Purring  
My  parrot  makes  purring  sounds,  although  it  sounds  more  like  a  soft  growl  than  a  
cat’s  purr.  Purring  is  an  indication  that  he  is  really  happy  or  excited  about  something  
he  sees,  hears  or  is  playing  with.  Purring  could  also  mean  that  he  is  annoyed,  but  
until  now  he  never  seemed  annoyed  when  he  purrs.  
 
Feathers  
• Fluffing  feathers  
If  my  parrot  feels  really  comfortable,  content  or  a  bit  sleepy,  he  will  fluff  up  his  
feathers  a  bit.  This  usually  involves  sitting  on  one  foot  along  with  chattering.  He  will  
lift  one  of  his  paws  into  his  feathers  and  sit  on  the  other  one.  Fluffing  up  the  feathers  
helps  to  keep  him  warm  and  makes  it  easier  to  clean  them.  If  a  bird  has  its  feathers  
fluffed  up  for  a  longer  period  of  time  and  is  very  quiet,  it  could  mean  he  is  cold  or  he  
is  sick.    
 
Beak  and  head  
• Grinding  
Grinding  his  beak  tells  me  he  is  content  or  sleepy.  Grinding  is  sliding  the  beak  over  
the  other  and  mostly  from  side-­‐to-­‐side.  One  reason  of  doing  is,  is  to  maintain  the  
condition  of  his  beaks.  
• Biting  
While  baby  parrots  can  be  beaky  and  explore  their  environment  with  their  beaks  like  
a  little  child,  serious  biting  is  never  positive  sign.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  tell  why  a  
parrot  bites,  since  it  can  be  caused  by  many  things.  The  parrot  can  be  scared  of  
something  or  someone,  defend  his  territory  or  can  be  angry.  It  can  also  mean  ‘no’.  

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 For  instance,  if  I  want  to  pet  my  parrot,  but  he  does  not  want  to  be  petted,  he  will  
gently  bite  my  finger  to  tell  me  that.  He  can  also  bite  when  he  is  frustrated.    
• Chewing  
Parrots  and  birds  like  to  chew  on  everything  and  is  a  form  of  entertainment.  
• Pinpointing  
Birds  are  able  to  control  their  eye-­‐pupils.  Quickly  enlarging  and  shrinking  their  pupils  
is  known  as  ‘pinpointing’  or  ‘flashing’.  Pinpointing  is  a  form  of  excitement  and  can  be  
both  positive  and  negative.  It  is  important  to  look  at  other  body  signals  to  determine  
what  the  bird  is  communicating.    
• Watching  with  one  eye  
If  my  parrot  is  very  interested  in  something,  he  will  turn  his  head  and  look  at  the  
object  with  one  eye.  This  is  common  parrot  behaviour,  but  for  people  who  are  not  
familiar  with  this,  it  could  be  a  bit  confusing  because  it  can  look  like  he  is  not  
interested  or  that  he  is  looking  at  something  else.    
 

3.3  Animal-­‐Computer  Interaction  

What  is  the  aim  of  Animal-­‐Computer  Interaction  and  what  does  it  stand  for?  According  to  
Mancini  (Mancini,  C.,  2011)    “ACI  aims  to  understand  the  interaction  between  animals  and  
computing  technology  within  the  contexts  in  which  animals  habitually  live,  are  active,  and  
socialize  with  members  of  the  same  or  other  species,  including  humans”.    
When  it  comes  to  development  of  interactive  technology  for  animals,  ACI  has  three  aims.  
First,  the  technology  should  improve  the  animals’  life  quality  and  expectancy  by  fulfilling  
their  physiological  and  psychological  needs.  The  second  aim  is  for  technology  to  give  farm  
animals  control  over  the  process  without  producing  any  side  effects.  Last,  they  aim  for  
technology  that  enables  communication  between  companion  animals  and  their  guardians  
and  to  promote  understanding  between  them.  
In  particular,  ACI  aims  to  develop  a  user-­‐centred  approach  to  design  technology  that  is  
meant  for  animal  use.  This  approach  is  based  on  the  animals’  needs  and  preferences.  
 
From  an  ethical  view,  there  are  a  couple  of  principles  when  design  for  animals.  All  species  
should  be  respected  for  their  characteristics  and  nonhuman  participants  should  be  seen  and  

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treated  as  individuals.  Human  or  nonhuman  participants  should  be  protected  from  
physiological  or  psychological  harm  or  from  any  harm  at  all.  During  a  research,  there  should  
always  be  a  possibility  to  withdraw  from  the  interaction  and  human  or  nonhumans  should  
never  be  forced.  One  should  only  work  with  a  particular  species  if  the  intent  is  to  create  
knowledge  or  develop  technology  that  is  beneficial  or  related  to  that  species.  
 
Furthermore,  Mancini  believes  that  developing  ACI  as  a  discipline  could  have  multiple  
benefits  for  both  animals  and  humans.  It  could  strengthen  the  interspecies  relationship  and  
give  a  better  understanding  of  the  animals  we  share  our  lives  with  or  work  with  closely.  
Finally,  “ACI  could  expand  the  horizon  of  user-­‐computer  interaction  research  by  pushing  our  
imagination  beyond  the  boundaries  of  human-­‐computer  interaction”.  
 
Most  articles  within  the  area  of  ACI  seem  to  focus  on  domesticated  animals:  dogs,  cats,  
poultry  and  hamsters.  Unfortunately,  there  is  very  few  when  it  comes  to  birds  or  parrots  
within  computing  technology.  When  I  asked  Dr  Mancini  about  this,  she  said  it  has  probably  
to  do  with  the  fact  that  people  test  with  the  source  that  is  available  and  that  drags  their  
attention.  In  most  cases,  those  are  dogs  or  cats.  However,  I  was  able  to  find  a  few  examples  
of  touch  screen  use  among  animals.    
 

3.4  Related  work  

 
Orang-­‐utan  play  on  and  beyond  a  touchscreen    
TOUCH  is  a  project,  which  aims  to  ease  meaningful  interactions  between  humans  and  organ-­‐
utans  through  touch  technologies  (Wirman,  2013).  TOUCH  is  focused  on  play,  which  is  an  
important  form  of  enrichment  for  animals  in  captivity.  With  this  project  they  try  to  “explore  
how  play  can  serve  as  a  basis  for  cross-­‐species  communication  between  humans  and  orang-­‐
utans”.    
However,  this  study  is  more  focused  on  cross-­‐species  communication  and  play  between  
humans  and  orang-­‐utans  rather  than  the  interaction  with  the  touch  screen  device.  It  does  
mention  the  risk  of  boredom  in  captivity  and  how  they  used  play  as  enrichment.  
Furthermore  it  mentions  designing  for  the  ‘Other’,  which  can  be  seen  as  useful  in  designers’  
self-­‐reflection  and  development  as  it  leads  to  new  way  of  interaction  possibilities.  

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Parrots  have  personal  music  tastes  
Dr  Franck  Péron  conducted  a  study  that  focused  on  the  personal  music  tastes  of  parrots  
(Copping,  2012).  Two  male  African  Grey  parrots  took  part  in  a  trial  where  a  touch  screen  was  
placed  in  their  cage  for  about  a  month.  The  screen  showed  two  buttons  that  could  be  
activated  by  the  parrot’s  beaks  and  would  play  a  15  second  fragment  of  a  popular  song:  
either  ‘I  Don’t  Feel  like  Dancing’  by  the  pop  group  Scissor  Sisters,  or  the  ‘La  Petite  Fille  de  la  
Mer’  by  Vangelis.  
 
Because  the  touch  screen  was  placed  in  their  cage,  the  parrots  could  press  the  buttons  
whenever  they  liked.  It  turned  out  that  both  parrots  had  a  different  preference.  One  
consistently  chose  for  the  Scissor  Sisters,  the  other  for  Vangelis.  The  researchers  noticed  the  
parrot’s  dancing  (by  bobbing  their  head  and  feet)  and  singing  along  with  the  music.  
I  contacted  Dr  Péron  to  ask  about  the  choices  for  a  touch  screen  device,  the  shapes  and  the  
colours  of  the  buttons  on  the  screen.  He  said  they  chose  for  a  touch  screen  so  that  the  birds  
could  interact  with  it  even  if  the  researchers  were  not  there.  It  would  allow  the  birds  to  have  
control  over  the  broadcasted  music.  The  idea  was  to  use  it  as  enrichment  device  for  the  
weekend.  He  said  they  knew  interaction  with  touch  screens  was  possible,  since  another  
research  group  used  a  touch  screen  device  in  Vienna,  with  a  focus  group  of  pigeons  and  keas  
(a  parrot  species).    They  did  not  control  for  colour  or  shape  bias,  since  the  focus  of  the  study  
was  to  see  if  the  birds  where  selecting  a  shape  /  colour  or  the  piece  of  music.    Unfortunately,  
the  study  has  not  been  published  yet.  
 

Pigeons  use  touch  screens  to  solve  challenging  problems  

Dr  Edward  Wasserman  used  a  ‘string  task’  in  his  study  of  the  intelligence  of  pigeons  (Prigg,  
2013).  The  ‘string  task’  is  a  standard  intelligence  test  and  is  used  to  see  if  pigeons  were  able  
to  pull  at  the  right  string  to  receive  the  treat.  The  computer  screen  displayed  square  buttons  
(white)  that  are  attached  to  dishes  (squares  at  the  top)  that  are  either  full  with  food  or  
empty.  If  the  birds  peck  at  the  right  button,  the  virtual  bowl  of  food  would  move  closer  to  
them  until  it  reached  the  point  where  the  pigeons  would  be  rewarded  with  real  food.      

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'The  pigeons  proved  that  they  could  indeed  learn  this  task  with  a  variety  of  different  string  
configurations—even  those  that  involved  crossed  strings,  the  most  difficult  of  all  
configurations  to  learn  with  real  strings,'  said  Professor  Wasserman.  During  experiments  the  
researchers  found  out  that  the  pigeons  chose  the  correct  string  between  74%  and  90%  of  
the  time.    

Pigeons  are  not  the  same  species  as  parrots,  but  this  study  shows  that  birds  are  indeed  
intelligent  and  that  they  are  able  to  interact  with  a  touch  screen.  They  used  a  touch  screen  
as  input  device  for  physical  output:  real  food.  The  reward  of  real  food  probably  triggered  the  
pigeons  to  complete  the  tasks  again.  

Acquisition  of  the  same/different  concept  by  an  African  Grey  parrot  (Alex)  
Pepperberg  (Pepperberg,  1987)  conducted  a  study  with  an  African  Grey  parrot  to  train  the  
concept  of  same/different.  In  earlier  studies,  this  parrot  named  Alex,  was  learned  to  use  
English  vocalizations  to  label  objects  based  on  ‘colour’  and  ‘shape’.  Based  on  that  knowledge  
and  his  ability  to  speak  the  correct  labels,  the  parrot  was  now  trained  to  answer  the  right  
label  (e.g.  ‘colour’,  ‘shape’  or  ‘mah-­‐mah’  [matter])  on  the  questions  “What’s  same?”  or  
“What’s  different?”.  
Alex  had  an  accuracy  of  69,7%  -­‐  76,6%  for  pairs  of  familiar  objects  that  were  not  trained  with  
and  82,3%  -­‐  85%  for  pairs  of  objects  whose  combinations  of  colours,  shapes  or  materials  
were  unfamiliar.  
In  order  for  Alex  to  answer  the  question,  he  first  had  to  attend  to  multiple  aspects  of  the  
shown  objects.  Second,  he  had  to  determine  if  the  shown  objects  were  the  same  or  
different.  Then  he  had  to  decide  based  on  what  they  were  the  same  or  different  (e.g.,  where  
they  both  blue,  or  triangular,  or  made  of  wood?).  Finally,  he  had  to  vocally  produce  the  right  
label  for  the  specific  category.  
 
This  study  shows  (as  some  of  her  previous  studies)  that  her  subject  Alex  was  able  to  
understand  abstract  concepts  such  as  colour,  shape  and  material.  Not  only  he  was  able  to  
understand,  he  was  also  able  to  use  the  English  language  to  respond  to  a  question.  An  
African  Grey  is  a  different  parrot  species  than  a  Caique.  Therefore  it  is  hard  to  tell  how  far  
the  similarity  goes.  However,  it  does  show  that  parrots  can  see  colours  and  shapes,  that  they  

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see  them  as  separate  objects  and  that  there  is  even  the  possibility  that  they  can  understand  
different,  abstract  concepts.  
This  is  the  only  example  that  does  not  involve  technology,  but  is  nevertheless  interesting  
when  it  comes  to  interface  elements  as  it  gives  a  glimpse  of  their  cognitional  ability.  
 
Pepperberg  and  Alex  the  parrot  are  quite  known  in  the  avian  world,  since  they  worked  
together  for  30  years.  Pepperberg  has  written  several  papers  based  on  studies  with  Alex.  
A  video  of  Alex  can  be  found  by  the  following  URL:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldYkFdu5FJk  
 

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4.  Exploring  interactions  

4.1  Parrot  +  Existing  applications  

To  find  out  what  the  interaction  possibilities  and  limitations  are  of  a  parrot  as  user,  I  tested  a  
variety  of  existing  mobile  applications.  I  decided  to  use  my  iPad  mini,  because  it  has  a  slightly  
larger  screen  than  my  mobile  phone.  It  is  important  to  keep  in  mind  that  I  only  tested  with  
one  parrot  of  8  months  old,  which  means  he  is  still  a  baby  /  little  child.  Therefore,  it  is  
possible  that  some  actions  are  not  possible  for  him  at  this  point  in  life.  The  video  of  the  
testing  can  be  found  here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00OaAgz-­‐WGI  
 
Tablet  games  for  animals  
My  parrot  was  a  bit  insecure  when  he  was  allowed  to  play  with  the  iPad  for  the  first  time.  He  
approached  the  tablet  very  carefully,  afraid  of  the  moving  objects  on  the  screen.  He  
immediately  sought  for  the  safety  of  my  hand.  While  sitting  on  my  hand,  he  had  more  
confidence  and  became  inquisitive  about  the  device.  I  am  aware  of  the  fact  that  my  parrot  
needs  some  time  to  adjust  when  he  is  confronted  with  something  new.  Sometimes  he  needs  
a  few  minutes,  other  times  he  needs  a  few  days.  That  is,  because  he  has  to  determine  if  it  is  
dangerous  for  him.  After  all,  parrots  are  preys.  
 
Although  applications  and  in  particular  games  for  animals  on  mobile  devices  seem  to  
increase  in  popularity,  the  number  of  available  games  is  very  low.  On  the  Internet  I  found  a  
few  lists  with  games  suitable  for  animals.  I  noticed  that  these  games  are  usually  designed  for  
cats.  However,  I  was  not  able  to  download  the  games  from  the  website  of  Friskies  
(https://gamesforcats.com),  while  they  present  a  reasonable  amount  of  games  on  their  
website.  From  the  available  animal  games  I  tested  Game  for  Cats  (by  Little  Hiccup  LLC),  Best  
Game  for  Cats  (by  Xilva)  and  Games  for  Cats  (by  Jaboston).  
 
The  ‘Chase  the  Laser’  game  from  Game  for  Cats  by  Little  Hiccup  LLC  worked  very  well.  See  
figure  1.  This  is  the  only  game  I  tested  which  did  not  need  any  explanation.  It  was  obvious  
for  my  parrot  what  he  had  to  do.  As  soon  as  the  laser  beam  moved  over  the  screen,  it  
dragged  my  parrot’s  attention.  He  was  watching  the  movements  for  a  couple  of  seconds  and  

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then  tried  to  chase  the  laser  to  grab  it.  Perhaps  the  laser  moves  a  little  bit  too  fast  over  the  
screen,  but  that  did  not  discourage  my  parrot  from  playing.  

       
Figure  1.  ‘Chase  the  Laser’         Figure  2.  ‘Games  for  Cats’  
 
My  parrot  rated  the  Games  for  Cats  from  Jaboston  as  okay.  See  figure  2.  The  movement  of  
the  objects  is  slightly  lower  then  in  other  games,  but  he  did  not  really  seem  to  be  interested  
in  these  games.  The  objects  on  the  screen  are  quite  big,  which  scared  him  at  first.  The  
background  has  different  colours,  which  could  also  distract  him.  The  sounds  are  quite  hard  
and  perchance  it  does  not  please  him.  
 
By  the  lack  of  available  games  for  animals,  I  searched  for  others  games  to  test  with  my  
parrot.  Caique  parrots  are  considered  as  highly  intelligent.  Since  my  parrot  is  still  a  baby,  I  
looked  at  some  games  for  babies.  The  interaction  in  these  games  is  less  complex  and  focuses  
more  on  colours  and  sounds,  which  I  found  suitable  for  my  parrot.  Furthermore,  I  also  tried  
some  general  games  that  I  considered  as  doable.    
 
Interaction  possibilities  
To  control  or  rather  play  with  the  touch  screen,  my  parrot  used  his  beak  to  touch.  For  
parrots  that  is  a  natural  thing  to  do;  they  always  use  their  beaks  to  explore  new  things  in  
their  environment.  Besides  his  beak,  he  also  used  his  tongue.  With  his  tongue  he  was  able  to  
click  or  tap  on  certain  figures  to  make  them  disappear  or  to  trigger  the  interaction.  Not  only  
he  was  able  to  use  the  touch  screen  with  his  head,  but  also  with  his  paws.  By  walking  over  
the  screen  he  interacted  with  the  application:  objects  appeared  on  the  screen,  sound  files  
started  to  play  and  he  could  even  swipe  between  the  iPad  applications.  

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Applications  with  moving  objects  are  way  more  interesting  than  applications  with  non-­‐
moving  objects.  For  instance,  the  application  ‘Cat  piano’  from  Games  for  Cats  shows  seven  
cats  on  the  screen.  See  figure  3.  Nothing  happens  until  you  or  your  cat  touches  one  of  the  
cats.  The  cats  represent  seven  keys  of  a  piano.  When  a  cat  is  being  touched,  it  sings  a  note  
for  1,5  seconds  at  most.  My  parrot  tried  it  for  a  few  minutes,  but  was  not  impressed  at  all  by  
the  lack  of  movements  and  animations  in  the  application.    
 
I  noticed  that  my  parrot  has  a  very  good  view  and  is  even  able  to  see  little  details  on  the  
screen.  For  instance,  the  application  Pocket  Pond  (by  TriggerWave  LLC)  shows  a  pond  filled  
with  water  and  koi.  See  figure  4.  Somewhere  in  the  water  lay  two  small  red  shapes  that  are  
not  interactive.  During  the  research  he  made  his  own  game,  trying  to  grab  the  red  shapes  
out  of  the  virtual  water.  He  could  spend  hours  with  this  particular  application,  trying  to  
achieve  his  goal.  
 

     
Figure  3.  ‘Cat  Piano’                Figure  4.  ‘Pocket  Pond’          Figure  5.  ‘Giggle  Gang’  
 
Perhaps  the  most  valuable  insight  gained  by  testing,  is  the  importance  of  sound.  The  first  
time  I  noticed  was  when  he  played  with  the  application  Giggle  Gang  (by  Fisher  Price).  He  
touched  the  figure  on  the  screen  and  immediately  heard  a  short  sound  clip  of  a  giggling  
baby.  See  figure  5.  He  was  surprised  and  looked  up.  When  he  did  not  hear  it  anymore,  he  
touched  the  screen  again  and  the  figure  started  to  giggle  again.  After  a  few  times,  my  parrot  
started  purring,  like  a  cat.  When  he  does,  it  means  that  he  likes  it.    
The  biggest  response  I  got  from  the  application  Pocket  Pond,  as  mentioned  before.  The  first  
time  I  started  the  application,  he  immediately  purred  by  hearing  the  sound  of  water.  He  ran  

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to  the  screen  to  have  a  look  and  puffed  out  his  feathers  and  shaked  like  he  was  going  to  
wash  himself.  He  carefully  walked  over  the  screen,  hearing  the  movements  of  the  water.  At  
that  point,  he  started  to  explore  the  area  around  the  iPad,  looking  for  the  water  to  appear.  
There  is  continuous  background  music  of  nature  sounds,  when  the  water  is  not  being  
touched.  My  parrot  sat  and  listened  for  a  few  minutes,  enjoying  the  sounds  of  nature.  
The  same  happened  with  Piano  Pals  (by  BigStack  Studios).  He  did  not  understand  the  
purpose  of  the  application  at  all,  but  he  liked  the  nature  sounds  as  background  music.  Again  
he  purred  and  concentrated  on  the  music,  which  seemed  to  give  him  a  calm  state  of  mind.  
 
Interaction  limitations  
Besides  the  possibilities  I  also  noticed  a  couple  of  limitations  for  my  parrot  as  a  user.  As  
mentioned  before,  he  likes  to  walk  or  sit  on  the  screen  of  the  iPad.  The  screen  responds  to  
his  beak,  tongue  and  paws,  which  has  led  to  activating  multitasking  gestures.  Sometimes  he  
accidentally  swiped  between  the  applications  on  the  iPad  or  between  different  screens.  This  
interrupted  his  play  and  I  had  to  switch  back  to  the  right  application.  So  now  and  then  he  
was  a  little  inpatient  and  jumped  back  on  the  screen,  while  I  was  still  trying  to  find  back  the  
application.  Fortunately,  the  iPad  has  a  setting  to  activate  or  deactivate  the  use  of  
multitasking  gestures.  This  problem  was  easily  solved.  
 
By  far,  most  applications  that  are  tested  make  use  of  the  drag  interaction.  For  humans  this  is  
not  a  problem  and  even  babies  swipe  with  their  little  fingers  over  the  screen.  Cats  and  dogs  
are  able  to  perform  some  sort  of  swipe  movement  when  they  try  to  catch  the  objects  on  the  
screen  (CompilarizTVi,  2013).  My  parrot  was  unable  to  swipe  in  the  tested  games.    I  do  not  
think  he  is  incapable  to  do  so,  but  these  games  are  not  optimized  for  him.  
At  first,  Fruit  Ninja  (by  Halfbrick  Studios)  seemed  to  be  a  doable  game  for  my  parrot.  
However,  the  fruits  fly  too  fast  for  him  to  catch  them.  Because  he  used  in  particular  his  
tongue  for  clicking,  he  was  not  fast  enough.  Almost  all  games  for  babies  use  dragging  and  
swiping  interactions,  with  sound  and  small  animations  as  instant  feedback.  The  giggles  in  
Giggle  Gang  rotate  at  their  place  when  the  iPad  lays  flat.  This  makes  it  easier  to  drag  them  
over  the  screen,  but  my  parrot  does  not  know  yet  how  to  do  so.  With  some  training  he  could  
be  able  to,  but  I  am  not  sure  if  that  is  possible  within  the  given  time.  
 

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There  is  huge  difference  between  games  developed  for  animals  or  babies  and  general  
applications.  It  is  the  use  of  advertisements  in  games.  The  applications  for  animals  and  
babies  did  not  have  advertisements  in  the  actual  game.  General  applications  that  are  for  free  
make  often  use  of  in-­‐app  purchases  to  still  earn  some  money.  However,  my  parrot  does  not  
know  that  this  is  advertisement  and  thinks  it  is  part  of  the  game.  Especially  moving  banners  
or  pop-­‐ups  are  interesting  to  him,  but  most  of  the  time  the  activation  happened  accidentally  
by  walking  on  the  screen.  This  became  a  little  annoying  for  both  of  us,  because  the  play  was  
regularly  interrupted.  
Another  distinction  is  that  games  for  animals  or  babies  implemented,  what  I  would  call,  
some  sort  of  safety  button.  These  buttons  require  different  forms  of  interaction  to  go  back  
to  the  menu,  such  as  pressing  it  for  10  seconds,  tapping  twice  or  three  times  on  a  particular  
button  or  clicking  on  multiple  buttons  in  a  specific  order,  so  these  special  users  can  not  
accidentally  close  the  game.  There  is  only  one  exception  and  that  is  pressing  the  home  
button  on  the  iPad.  
 
Sometimes  my  parrot  becomes  a  bit  greedy  about  the  iPad.  In  particular  it  starts  when  he  
plays  with  the  Pocket  Pond  application  for  more  than  10  minutes.  When  he  thinks  I  want  to  
take  the  iPad  away  from  him,  he  bites  my  fingers  to  warn  me.  As  a  parrot  owner,  I  am  not  
afraid  of  being  bitten  and  it  has  no  effect  on  me.  But  besides  greedy,  it  could  also  mean  that  
he  is  frustrated.  I  think  that  he  tries  to  drink  the  virtual  water  and  becomes  frustrated  
because  he  is  unsuccessful  every  time.  This  is  definitely  something  to  keep  in  mind,  because  
frustration  is  not  something  I  aim  for  within  the  project.  
 

4.2  Parrot  +  small  experiments  

In  order  to  create  a  parrot-­‐appropriate  interface,  more  testing  was  required.  The  goal  of  this  
second  testing  phase  was  to  look  for  interface  parameters  that  he  got  exited  about.  From  
previous  testing,  I  learned  that  rewarding  is  a  very  important  aspect  for  him.  But  what  kind  
of  reward  works  best  for  him?  
The  testing  took  place  in  an  iterative  process;  I  presented  a  prototype,  made  notes,  refined  
the  design  and  repeated.  This  gained  me  the  most  insights  and  gave  the  possibility  to  play  

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with  the  parameters  for  the  best  outcome.  The  video  of  the  testing  can  be  found  here:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq2tNl1nPGg  
 
First,  two  simple  prototypes  in  Processing  were  created.  The  first  prototype  had  six  squares  
with  each  a  different  colour.  See  figure  6.  The  purpose  of  this  prototype  was  to  find  out  if  he  
is  able  to  see  the  squares  as  separate  objects  and  which  colours  he  likes  and  dislikes.  
The  second  prototype  had  three  different  objects:  a  rectangle,  circle  and  triangle,  all  with  a  
different  colour.  See  figure  7.  In  the  beginning,  all  the  objects  were  fixed  but  after  a  day  I  
decided  they  should  be  rotating,  to  find  out  if  he  is  more  attracted  to  moving  objects  rather  
than  fixed  objects  and  if  there  is  a  particular  shape  he  is  interested  in  the  most.  
The  testing  was  done  over  a  couple  of  days.  Not  only  to  see  if  my  parrot  is  consistent  in  his  
choices,  but  also  because  there  were  days  he  did  not  wanted  to  test  but  play  with  different  
things.  The  prototypes  also  slightly  changed  over  these  days,  based  on  received  results.    
I  played  with  colours,  sizes  and  shapes  to  find  out  what  triggers  his  attention  the  best.  
 

           
Figure  6.  Prototype  1             Figure  7.  Prototype  2  
 
Evaluation  
In  the  first  prototype,  he  explored  each  square  and  colour.  He  is  definitely  able  to  see  the  
separate  objects  since  he  inspected  the  shapes  precisely.  He  seems  to  have  a  clear  
preference  for  the  colour  orange.  He  spends  more  time  at  the  orange  object  or  he  chose  to  
explore  the  orange  object  first  before  moving  on  to  the  other  colours  and  objects.  

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Despite  the  fact  that  he  is  able  to  see  the  objects,  he  was  easily  bored.  There  was  no  
feedback  for  him  when  he  touched  he  squares.  Nothing  changed  on  the  screen:  no  
movements,  no  colour  changing  and  no  audio  feedback.    
I  learned  that  working  with  Processing  on  iPad  is  quite  challenging.  The  prototypes  were  
created  on  a  laptop  with  Processing  where  I  was  able  to  use  a  keyboard  for  programming.  
They  were  tested  on  the  laptop  and  provided  with  short  audio  files  that  would  start  playing  
when  a  certain  shape  was  touched.  However,  when  I  transferred  the  code  to  iPad,  problems  
occurred.  For  some  reason,  iPad  does  not  seem  to  support  all  functions.  Some  objects  were  
not  rotating  and  the  sound  files  did  not  work.  I  haven’t  been  able  to  figure  out  what  caused  
these  problems  between  iPad  and  Processing.  To  solve  the  sound  problem,  I  used  a  Wizard  
of  Oz  approach  in  the  second  prototype.  
 
The  second  prototype  was  based  on  shapes  and  movements.  When  it  came  to  different  
shapes,  he  found  the  circle  more  interesting.  Even  when  I  changed  the  prototype  from  fixed  
objects  into  rotating  objects,  he  still  found  the  circle  more  attractive  than  the  moving  
objects.  After  this  observation,  I  gave  all  three  objects  an  orange  colour  to  see  if  this  affected  
his  choice.  Again,  the  circle  was  preferred.  I  think  this  is  because  a  circular  shape  is  more  
related  to  nature,  where  a  lot  of  fruits,  vegetables,  nuts  and  seeds  have  a  circular  or  oval  
shape.  Probably  the  same  goes  for  the  orange  colour.  
I  used  the  Wizard  of  Oz  approach  to  provide  the  prototype  with  feedback  in  the  form  of  
sound.  When  my  parrot  touched  one  of  the  shapes,  I  pressed  a  specific  key  on  my  keyboard  
to  activate  one  of  the  sound  files.  He  immediately  looked  up  and  listened  to  the  sound.  It  
definitely  made  the  testing  more  interesting  for  him.  
 
Another  important  observation  during  these  conducted  tests  is  the  lack  of  physical  objects.  
More  than  once  he  took  one  of  his  toys  and  placed  it  on  the  screen  to  start  playing  with  it,  or  
he  preferred  to  play  with  his  toys  rather  than  with  the  iPad.  See  figure  8.  
Also,  he  was  more  interested  in  the  case  around  the  device  than  in  the  screen  itself.  After  
only  a  couple  of  days  he  noticed  that  the  iPad  has  a  case  around  it  that  he  is  able  to  grab.  
Especially  the  openings  in  the  case  (for  the  adaptor  or  headphones)  are  attractive,  because  it  
is  easier  to  destroy  the  case  at  that  specific  place.  Only  a  few  days  after  that,  he  found  out  

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that  the  screen  has  a  screen  protector  that  he  can  lift  up,  because  there  is  a  small  hole  in  the  
protector  where  the  front  camera  is  located.  
 

 
Figure  8.  Placing  a  ball  on  the  screen.  
 
Overall,  he  had  a  bigger  interest  in  physical  objects  than  in  the  screen.  This  has  probably  to  
do  with  the  fact  that  he  is  unsuccessful  to  grab  the  objects  from  the  screen.  Therefore,  it  
does  not  trigger  his  attention  for  more  than  a  couple  of  minutes.  I  realised  that  I  needed  
some  sort  of  box  where  I  could  lay  the  device  in,  so  he  would  not  be  distracted  by  the  
hardware  and  at  the  same  time  I  can  protect  my  iPad  from  being  destroyed.  
 
What  are  the  interface  parameters?  
Based  on  these  results,  I  have  found  some  parameters  to  create  a  parrot-­‐appropriate  
interface  design.  These  parameters  are  as  follows:  
 
Colour  
The  use  of  colour  is  necessary.  He  seems  to  have  a  strong  preference  for  the  orange  colour.  
He  can  definitely  see  colours  and  I  believe  he  finds  them  attractive  since  he  always  comes  to  
explore  them  on  the  screen.  I  also  noticed  this  in  the  baby  or  toddler  application  that  we  
have  tested  before.  These  applications  contain  a  lot  of  colour  and  he  seems  to  like  that.    

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Shapes  
He  is  able  to  see  objects  as  separate  items  on  the  screen  as  he  explores  them  one  after  
another.  Looking  at  shapes,  he  prefers  the  circle,  even  above  rotating  objects.  In  previous  
testing  I  learned  that  he  is  more  attracted  to  moving  objects  rather  than  fixed  objects.  Here  I  
have  only  tested  with  rotating  objects  and  not  with  objects  that  move  across  the  screen.  The  
outcome  could  then  be  slightly  different.  He  spends  more  time  on  circular  shapes  than  any  
other  shape.  
 
Size  
The  smaller  the  size  of  the  shapes,  the  less  he  is  interested  in  it.  An  ellipse  of  50  pixels  by  50  
pixels  is  too  small.  He  will  see  them,  but  he  is  not  interested.  It  seems  the  bigger  the  better.  
However,  it  should  still  fit  within  the  screen  and  depends  on  the  goal  of  the  prototype.  
Especially  if  movement  is  involved,  space  around  the  object  is  needed.  I  got  the  best  results  
at  a  size  of  200  pixels  by  200  pixels  for  moving  objects  and  up  to  500  pixels  for  a  fixed  shape.  
 
Rewards  
There  are  a  couple  of  possible  rewards  that  I  would  consider  best.  The  use  of  sound  seems  
to  be  very  important.  He  really  enjoys  listening  to  music  or  more  specific  sounds  such  as  
giggling  babies,  bird  and  nature  sounds  and  Einstein  the  talking  parrot  (reference).  When  I  
start  the  YouTube  video  of  Einstein  (even  when  he  cannot  see  it)  he  becomes  calm,  starts  
preening  his  feathers  and  is  comfortable.  He  also  tries  to  mimic  some  of  Einstein’s  sounds.  
He  really  enjoys  watching  videos  of  talking  parrots.  
Another  option  for  a  reward  is  giving  him  a  physical  object  to  play  with.  Toys  are  tangible:  he  
can  hold  it  with  his  feet,  he  can  chew  on  it,  he  can  grab  it,  walk  around  with  it  and  he  can  
actually  play  with  it.  The  screen  of  an  iPad  does  not  give  him  these  opportunities  and  I  see  it  
makes  him  happy  if  he  can  play  with  his  toys.  
He  loves  to  play  together  with  me.  He  surely  loves  me  and  I  believe  that  he  thinks  it  is  more  
fun  to  play  together  with  me.  This  also  includes  some  cuddle-­‐time.  Playing  together  could  
also  be  a  reward  for  him.  
The  last  option  is  providing  him  with  a  food  treat.  Parrots  love  food  and  giving  sunflower  
seeds,  a  piece  of  fruit  or  a  nut  is  always  an  appreciated  reward.  This  type  of  reward  is  

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especially  been  used  in  clicker  training.  Giving  food  after  exhibiting  the  desired  behaviour  
can  stimulate  the  bird  to  perform  the  same  exhibit  again.  
Probably  the  best  reward  is  changing  between  the  rewards.  Sometimes  he  likes  a  seed  as  a  
reward  and  other  days  he  does  not  seem  to  care  about  it  and  prefers  something  else.  A  
parrot  needs  a  lot  of  change,  to  trigger  his  mind  and  to  keep  him  busy.  It  turned  out  the  
same  goes  for  rewards.  
   

4.3  Parrot  +  prototypes  

I  gained  a  lot  of  information  about  possibilities,  limitations,  screen  elements  and  rewards.  I  
used  this  information  to  test  a  couple  of  concepts  that  I  turned  into  prototypes.  These  
concepts  contain  a  playground  for  my  parrot  where  he  can  use  the  screen  of  the  device.  
URL  of  the  video  of  the  testing:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92s9xdjDUCQ  
 

4.3.1  Interactive  box  

The  obtained  results  from  the  testing  phase  had  resulted  in  a  new  prototype;  the  interactive  
box.  This  is  a  physical  box  that  opens  and  closes  by  pressing  on  a  button.  The  box  is  filled  
with  some  of  my  parrot’s  favourite  (small)  toys.  See  figure  9.  The  purpose  of  this  box  is  to  
open  when  my  parrot  touches  the  button  on  the  screen.  By  doing  so,  my  parrot  basically  
rewards  himself  for  touching  the  screen  by  getting  access  to  his  toys  and  hearing  a  short  
audio  fragment.  
The  box  opens  by  a  servomotor  that  is  placed  inside  the  box.  The  servomotor  is  connected  
to  an  Arduino  and  is  controlled  by  my  keyboard.  I  used  the  Wizard  of  Oz  approach  to  open  
and  close  the  box,  as  I  could  not  connect  the  Arduino  to  the  iPad.  Thereby,  I  have  to  be  
careful  with  wires.  I  do  not  want  my  parrot  to  destroy  them,  as  it  contains  electricity  when  
connected.  Also,  a  wooden  playground  has  been  made  to  protect  the  iPad,  hold  the  physical  
box  in  place  and  to  hide  the  fragile  wires.  
 
The  physical  box  had  been  introduced  first,  since  my  parrot  needs  some  time  to  get  used  to  
new  objects  and  particularly  since  this  box  has  a  moving  lid.  See  figure  9.  The  first  time  the  
movement  of  the  lid  was  too  fast;  either  it  was  open  or  it  was  closed.  My  parrot  was  scared  
of  this,  because  it  happened  rapidly.  After  that  observation,  I  changed  the  code  to  give  the  

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lid  a  more  smooth  motion  to  open  and  close.  This  was  a  big  improvement.  My  parrot  felt  
much  more  confident  after  the  change.  Already  at  the  first  time  he  noticed  his  toys  inside  
the  box  and  dared  to  take  them  out.  He  quickly  learned  there  was  something  exciting  inside  
the  box.    

             
Figure  9.  Box  closed            Box  opened                      Box  contains  rewards  
 
After  he  was  familiar  with  the  box,  I  introduced  the  box  within  the  created  playground.  To  
avoid  my  parrot  being  distracted  by  the  wood,  I  made  a  cover  from  fleece  so  there  is  a  soft  
surface  to  sit  on.  With  this  playground  he  was  still  able  to  use  the  screen,  but  not  to  chew  on  
the  cover  or  accidentally  press  on  the  home  button.  See  figure  5.  
The  iPad  screen  showed  a  large  orange  coloured  button.  Every  time  he  touched  the  screen,  
the  box  would  open  and  he  was  able  to  pick  a  toy  of  choice.  I  decided  to  use  clicker  training  
in  during  this  test  to  see  if  it  motivated  him  to  play  with  the  screen:  when  my  parrot  touched  
or  walked  on  the  orange  circle,  I  clicked  with  the  clicker,  gave  him  a  sunflower  seed  to  eat  
and  opened  the  box.  By  doing  this,  he  was  rewarded  three  times:  the  sound  of  the  clicker,  
something  tasty  to  eat  and  access  to  some  of  his  favourite  toys.  

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Figure  10.  Playground  for  physical  interactive  box  
 
Evaluation  
He  certainly  liked  the  sunflower  seeds  as  a  reward,  but  he  did  not  understand  the  
connection  between  the  screen  and  the  interactive  box  yet.  Also,  he  did  not  make  the  link  
between  the  screen  and  receiving  a  treat.  It  was  more  luck  than  purpose  if  he  touched  the  
screen.  If  we  would  keep  training  this  over  a  longer  period  (e.g.  a  couple  of  weeks),  I’m  sure  
at  one  point  he  will  understand  that  he  can  influences  the  state  of  the  box  and  that  he  can  
have  access  to  his  toys  whenever  he  wants  too.  The  time  within  the  project  is  just  too  short  
to  train  him  these  new  tricks.  Teaching  him  tricks  is  also  quite  new  to  him,  since  we  have  not  
done  this  much  before.  
 

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He  loved  to  play  with  his  toys.  He  already  knew  there  was  something  fun  inside  the  box.  As  
soon  as  the  box  opened,  he  came  to  have  a  look  and  decided  which  toy  he  wanted  to  play  
with.  However,  when  the  box  closed  he  did  not  understand  that  he  had  to  go  back  to  the  
screen  to  open  the  box  again.  
 
Using  music  is  a  good  feedback  indicator.  Even  if  my  parrot  did  not  see  the  box,  because  he  
was  doing  something  else,  he  knew  if  the  box  was  opened  or  not  by  the  music.  Only  by  
opening  the  box,  a  short  audio  fragment  of  giggling  babies  would  play.  I  noticed  he  liked  the  
sounds  in  the  Fisher  Price  application  and  I  decided  to  use  it  as  feedback.  Sometimes  it  
helped  if  I  opened  and  closed  the  box  a  few  times  to  get  his  attention  back  to  the  box.  
 

4.3.2  Controlling  screen  with  physical  object  

Because  of  his  preference  for  physical  objects,  I  was  looking  for  a  way  to  control  or  play  with  
the  screen  through  physical  objects.  On  the  Internet  I  came  across  something  called  
Apptivity  (http://mattelapptivity.com/about.php):  “Apptivity  brings  toys  to  life  and  turns  
tablets  into  moving  digital  worlds!”  
I  suppose  making  conductive  toys  for  parrots  is  not  easy  and  requires  more  investigation.  I  
do  not  want  to  use  materials  that  can  be  toxic  or  dangerous  for  parrots.  I  first  wanted  to  test  
if  a  tangible  controller  actually  works  for  him,  before  I  started  doing  more  research  in  this  
area.  I  ordered  an  Apptivity  figure  to  try  it  out  with  my  parrot  and  to  see  if  this  would  fulfil  
his  needs.    
The  Apptivity  object  has  three  conductive  pads  at  the  bottom  that  will  be  recognised  by  the  
iPad.  These  pads  provide  the  input,  similar  to  a  finger  touch.  The  game  is  a  special  version  of  
‘Cut  the  Rope’  (by  ZeptoLab  UK  Limited  )  where  candy  falls  from  the  top  of  the  screen  and  
the  physical  figure  ‘Om  Nom’  has  to  collect  all  the  candy  and  to  avoid  the  spiders  as  shown  
in  figure  11.  

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Figure  11.  Testing  the  tangible  figure  as  controller  
 
Evaluation  
The  tangible  figure  is  a  valuable  addition  to  traditional  iPad  games,  but  not  as  control  device  
for  a  parrot.  My  parrot  was  curious  after  this  toy  and  directly  came  for  an  inspection.  The  
figure  is  made  from  hard  plastic,  which  is  until  now  still  destroy  resistant.  On  the  other  hand,  
the  shape  of  the  toy  makes  it  difficult  for  my  parrot  to  grab  it.  Of  course,  it  is  not  designed  
for  parrots,  but  nevertheless  my  parrot  was  able  to  move  it  over  the  screen  by  pushing  it  
with  its  beak.  Although,  most  of  the  time,  he  tried  to  take  away  the  ‘Om  Nom’  figure  to  play  
with  it  somewhere  else,  away  from  the  screen.  He  is  not  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  figure  has  
to  be  on  the  screen.  After  all,  it  did  not  seem  to  have  extra  value  for  him,  simply  because  he  
does  not  understand  the  purpose  of  the  object  and  the  game.  That  would  require  more  
training.  
 
It  is  too  difficult  to  play  regular  iPad  games  with  a  parrot  as  user,  if  not  impossible.  This  game  
has,  like  other  games,  special  elements  that  you  as  user  have  to  avoid.  Besides,  if  you  miss  
an  item  and  it  reached  the  bottom  of  the  screen,  you  are  already  game  over.  These  are  
features  that  make  a  normal  game  more  challenging  and  require  concentration  from  the  
player.  My  parrot  does  not  understand  these  things  and  does  not  even  understand  that  he  

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has  to  collect  items  by  moving  the  figure.  The  corresponding  game  for  the  figure  is  therefore  
no  success.  
 
Perhaps  it  would  be  better  if  I  could  make  my  own  conductive  toys  for  iPad  games.  In  that  
case,  I  would  be  able  to  make  some  toys  that  I  know  my  parrot  would  like.  I  usually  make  my  
own  toys  with  soft  materials  such  as  yarn  or  laces  to  make  balls  or  others  things  that  are  soft  
and  easy  to  grab  or  chew  on.  It  could  be  more  attractive  to  my  parrot  to  play  with,  but  I  
suppose  it  will  not  help  him  to  understand  that  he  has  to  use  it  specifically  on  the  screen.  
 
After  all,  I  think  this  concept  is  too  difficult  to  achieve  at  this  point.  I  think  physical  objects  
are  too  attractive  for  him  to  play  with  in  combination  with  the  touch  screen.  Physical  input  
for  virtual  output  seems  not  toe  be  the  most  compelling.  Physical  computing  would  be  a  
better  option  and  would  probably  have  more  potential.  For  me,  it  is  something  to  keep  in  
mind  as  a  next  step.  
 

4.3.3  Video  player  

I  learned  that  my  parrot  really  enjoyed  watching  videos  of  Einstein,  a  talking  parrot.  As  soon  
as  he  heard  Einstein  talking,  he  became  calm,  entertained  and  comfortable.  A  bird  that  is  not  
comfortable  or  safe  will  not  preen  itself.  I  slightly  adjusted  the  interactive  box  idea  into  a  
controlled  video  player.    
I  replaced  the  box  for  my  laptop  to  play  the  video.  I  created  a  new  playground  and  placed  it  
on  top  of  the  laptop,  so  he  could  not  pull  out  or  press  on  keys.  
A  random  video  clip  played  if  he  touched  the  button.  Again,  I  used  the  Wizard  of  Oz  to  
control  the  actions.  The  goal  was  to  press  the  button,  but  now  to  start  a  random  video.  Each  
video  clip  took  around  one  minute,  to  trigger  my  parrot  to  press  the  button  again  to  watch  a  
new  video  clip.  I  changed  the  button  into  an  image  of  a  parrot,  to  see  if  this  a  better  trigger.  

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Figure  12.  Watching  a  video  of  parrot  Einstein  
 
Evaluation  
Although  this  concept  does  not  require  physical  objects,  listening  or  watching  other  birds  or  
parrots  seems  to  give  him  enough  satisfaction.  He  immediately  ran  to  the  screen  when  he  
saw  the  video  of  Einstein.  He  is  definitely  entertained  when  the  video  is  playing  and  feels  
comfortable  See  figure  7.  When  the  video  stops,  he  starts  looking  for  Einstein  and  walks  
behind  the  laptop.  
We  are  facing  the  same  problem  as  with  the  interactive  box:  he  does  not  know  that  he  has  
to  use  the  button.  As  soon  as  the  video  clip  has  stopped,  he  becomes  distracted  and  is  
searching  for  something  else  to  play  with.    
I  noticed  that  he  starts  to  understand  the  concept  of  clicker  training.  After  repeating  the  
clicker  training  for  a  couple  of  days,  he  now  immediately  looks  up  when  he  hears  the  sound  
of  the  clicker.  It  looks  like  he  made  the  link  between  the  sound  of  a  click  and  receiving  a  
treat.  The  next  step  is  making  the  link  between  touching  the  screen  en  receiving  a  treat.  
Using  the  image  of  a  parrot  did  not  really  improve  the  usage  of  the  button.  I  believe  it  could  
even  distract  him  from  the  video.  The  image  only  works  as  a  button,  so  nothing  happens  
with  the  image  itself.  

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4.4  Feedback  from  experts  
 
Clara  Mancini  (Animal-­‐Computer  Interaction)  
“I  noticed  in  your  videos  that  he  seems  to  have  a  clear  preference  for  circular  shapes  and  the  
water  application  that  he  sat  on.  Maybe  it  has  to  do  with  the  context  around  the  object,  like  
the  sound  of  water  or  nature.  Do  you  know  what  the  sensory  perceptive  is  of  parrots?  What  
parrots  can  see  or  hear?  Can  they  discriminate  between  different  shapes?  Maybe  he  likes  to  
chase  things.  It  could  explain  why  certain  things  are  relevant  for  him  or  what  is  relevant  for  
parrots  in  general.  
 
Animals  normally  do  not  interact  with  virtual  things,  because  they  do  not  understand  the  
perception  of  ‘virtual’.  They  are  unsuccessful  to  grab  things  from  the  screen,  which  could  
lead  to  frustration.  Virtual  reality  for  humans  is  not  a  problem,  because  we  understand  the  
concept  of  ‘virtual  reality’.  For  animals,  this  might  not  be  the  case.  
Physical  computing  is  becoming  more  popular  and  could  be  relevant  when  designing  for  
animals,  since  animals  are  triggered  by  their  senses,  such  as  smell,  vision  and  textile  
stimulation.  
 
It  is  interesting  to  see  that  at  one  point  you  used  the  iPad  as  input  device  to  control  physical  
objects.  You  also  went  into  a  more  physical  direction  where  he  got  access  to  physical  toys  to  
play  with.  You  could  see  him  grabbing  a  toy  and  hopping  around  with  it.  It  is  a  really  nice  test  
that  you  have  done  in  the  videos  with  different  interaction  combinations.  The  outcomes  of  
the  testing  will  probably  lead  to  more  questions.  
 
If  you  would  like  to  go  further  with  this  project  in  the  future,  it  might  be  interesting  to  have  a  
closer  look  at  the  sensory  possibilities  of  parrots:  what  is  their  sensory  perceptive,  how  do  
they  make  sense  of  their  environment,  what  is  relevant  for  them  or  how  do  they  decide  if  
something  is  relevant  and  are  they  able  to  fulfil  their  task?  You  could  than  test  his  behaviour  
under  different  circumstances.  It  would  be  good  to  find  out  what  the  perception  of  parrots  is  
because  this  received  data  could  maybe  lead  to  new  ideas  or  opportunities  for  interface  
design.”

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Franck  Péron  (Animal  scientist)  
“I  really  enjoyed  watching  your  videos.  It's  really  great.  These  are  my  general  comments  as  
they  come  in  my  mind.  
 
1)  Exploration  phase:  It  is  interesting  to  see  that  different  things  seem  to  attract  the  bird  
attention:  fast  or  slow  motion,  very  small  items  or  bigger  ones  (like  the  crabs).  
Good  to  look  at  different  motion,  different  contrast.  
Need  human  to  be  here  to  make  the  bird  feeling  secure  and  confident  enough  to  explore.  
Warning:  make  sure  the  bird  does  not  bite  the  edges  of  the  device.  Could  lead  to  frustration  
as  the  bird  1)  try  to  control  its  environment  and  2)  need  to  display  pod  mandibular  activity  
(may  need  to  put  other  "real"  objects  close  so  that  the  bird  could  display  other  behaviour  if  
necessary.  
 
2)  Conceptual  phase  1:  nice  idea  to  look  at  colour,  shape  bias/preference  (there  are  
publications  that  look  at  the  impact  of  colour  on  objects  manipulations).  It  seems  that  birds  
are  attracted  by  the  colour  for  their  natural  food  (could  be  yellow/orange/red,  colour  of  
different  fruits).  
We  can  see  that  having  the  possibility  to  interact  physically  with  another  object  seems  to  
maintain  is  interest  on  the  touch  screen.  Maybe  it  could  be  nice  to  have  the  device  vertical  
so  that  the  bird  could  stand  on  non-­‐slippery  surface.  
Human  being  around  and  the  bird  playing  at  proximity  of  the  device  help  to  the  
familiarisation.  
The  box  is  a  really  good  idea.  However,  it  is  inconvenient,  as  it  needs  to  be  very  resistant.    
I  know  a  lost  of  experiments  going  "wrong"  because  parrots  manage  to  access  their  goal,  but  
without  any  consideration  for  the  setup  the  experimenters  were  working  on.  I  think  that's  
why  psittacines  are  so  popular  now  in  cognitive  research.  
It's  funny  to  see  the  bird  going  and  search  for  its  toys  placed  in  the  box.  It's  nice  to  see  the  
bird  interacting  with  the  shapes  on  the  touch  screen.  
At  the  end  of  the  sequence  we  can  see  that  other  elements  are  attracting  its  attention!  (The  
bloopers  at  the  end.  Camera  is  too  attractive)  
 
 

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3)  Testing  concepts:  nice  (clever)  setup.    
Good  idea  to  use  treats  for  trading  and  reinforcing.  
Once  again:  clever  to  introduce  an  object  to  interact  with  the  touch  screen.  Here  the  object  
is  used  to  control  the  actions  on  the  touch  screen.  The  object  has  to  be  resistant  and  with  
good  surface  for  grasp.  The  actions  may  be  too  complicated  (or  too  fast)  in  the  game.  
Nevertheless  the  bird  is  interested.  
Same  again:  May  need  to  provide  non-­‐slippery  support.  
 
One  general  comment  so  far;  human  presence  is  necessary.  This  is  nice  because  maybe  
some  owners  will  spend  more  time  with  their  bird,  interacting  positively.  But  the  main  issue  
is  that  birds  tend  to  stay  many  hours  alone  and  then  the  setup  needs  to  be  adapted.  
 
I'm  quite  jealous.  I  would  I  like  to  have  this  kind  of  knowledge  and  be  able  to  adapt  
electronic  devices  for  my  studies.  Good  luck  with  your  testing  period.  “  

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5.  Research  results    

Across  the  project  I  collected  a  variety  of  results.  Some  of  the  results  are  slightly  mentioned  
during  the  thesis.  This  is  an  overview  of  the  most  important  outcomes  of  a  parrot  as  user  in  
an  interactive  setting.  
 
He  needs  my  presence  
I  hoped  to  create  something  that  he  could  entertain  himself  with.  During  the  tests  it  became  
clear  that  he  needs  my  help  at  certain  points  and  that  I  cannot  let  him  play  with  the  
prototypes  on  his  own.  As  I  mentioned  before,  he  really  loves  to  play  with  me  and  find  things  
more  interesting  when  he  sees  I  am  playing  with  it  as  well.  I  assume  this  has  to  do  with  his  
age  and  that  he  finds  it  more  fun  to  play  together  with  me.    
 
Physical  objects  are  very  attractive  
It  is  clear  that  physical  objects  are  more  interesting  to  play  with  than  the  virtual  screen.  In  
contrast  to  the  iPad,  his  toys  are  tangible  and  allow  him  to  pick  them  up  and  hop  around  
with  them.  Using  the  tablet  as  input  device  for  physical  output  seems  to  have  more  potential  
than  physical  input  for  virtual  output.    
 
Sound  is  important  
Sound  turns  out  to  be  a  very  important  element.  It  even  overrules  the  need  for  movements  
on  the  screen.  In  particular  he  likes  the  sound  of  birds  and  nature,  which  seem  to  make  him  
relaxed  and  comfortable.  I  believe  he  also  learns  by  listening  to  other  birds  or  Einstein  by  
picking  up  some  new  sounds  to  mimic.  It  seems  to  trigger  his  intelligence.  
 
Rewards  
It  is  important  to  reward  animals  for  good  behaviour  during  training.  I  found  that  there  is  not  
one  particular  reward  he  likes  the  most,  as  he  seems  to  get  bored  with  them  easily.  
Therefore  it  is  important  to  use  a  different  reward  for  each  training  session  or  to  switch  to  a  
preferred  reward  during  a  session.  Rewards  can  be  a  good  trigger  to  repeat  the  same  
behaviour  again  and  thus,  over  time,  learning  what  it  has  to  do.    
 

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Training  is  necessary  
Along  the  project  it  became  clear  that  he  needs  more  training  in  order  to  understand  what  I  
am  asking  him  to  do.  I  am  sure  that,  when  he  understands,  it  will  lead  to  more  interaction  
possibilities  and  that  the  prototypes  will  even  be  more  fun  to  play  with.  
 
New  vs.  known  
If  something  is  new,  it  is  very  interesting  to  him.  But  after  a  few  days,  when  it  is  not  so  new  
anymore,  he  becomes  less  interested.  The  iPad  is  a  good  example.  The  first  time  he  was  
allowed  to  play  with  it,  he  was  very  careful  and  was  interested  in  every  change  on  the  
screen.  After  a  few  days,  when  he  got  used  to  it,  he  started  exploring  other  things,  like  the  
case  of  the  tablet.  He  is  slowly  enlarging  his  environment  after  he  got  used  to  something.  
The  same  goes  for  the  playgrounds  that  I  tested.  The  first  times  he  was  very  exciting  because  
it  was  all  new  to  him.  After  a  few  days,  it  was  harder  to  get  his  focus  or  attention.  
 

5.1  Discussion  
 
Parrots  in  captivity  need  a  lot  of  enrichment.  By  taking  a  companion  animal  into  our  house,  
we  take  away  a  lot  of  its  daily  activities,  causing  a  high  risk  of  boredom.  A  bored  parrot  will  
most  likely  show  bad  behaviour  such  as  screaming,  biting  or  even  feather  plucking  on  the  
more  dangerous  side.  To  avoid  these  problems,  the  parrot  should  be  given  entertainment.  
 
In  this  thesis,  entertainment  by  means  of  touch  screen  technology  has  been  explored.      
Parrots  are  certainly  able  to  interact  with  a  touch  screen.  However,  the  interaction  
possibilities  are  limited  in  contrast  with  humans.  My  parrot  was  found  to  have  a  detailed  
view,  which  created  opportunities  for  interface  elements  such  as  buttons,  shapes,  images  
and  videos.  Through  a  variety  of  small  experiments,  it  became  clear  that  he  has  personal  
preferences  when  it  comes  to  colour,  shapes  and  even  sound.  These  preferences  are  
meaningful  for  the  interface  design,  as  it  will  assumingly  motivate  him  for  interaction.  
Switching  between  different  rewards  can  help  to  get  his  attention  and  stimulate  him  for  
exploration.  
Although  he  in  general  prefers  to  play  with  tangible  items  such  as  his  toys,  I  do  believe  that  a  
touch  screen  can  enrich  a  parrot’s  life.  Hereby  I  mean  a  touch  screen  that  is  used  as  input  for  

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physical  output,  since  I  learned  that  this  makes  him  the  happiest.  The  only  exception  is  when  
video  is  used  as  reward.  With  a  bit  more  training  and  understanding,  the  tested  prototypes  
can  be  expanded  or  even  lead  to  new  interesting  opportunities.  
 
Designing  for  and  with  animals  is  extremely  interesting  for  a  designer.  Nonhuman  animals  
have  different  ways  of  approaching  an  unknown  object  and  how  they  explore  this  object.  To  
refer  back  to  Wirman’s  work:  “Design  for  a  very  different  user  –  for  the  genuine  ‘Other’  –  
can  be  seen  as  useful  in  designers’  self-­‐reflection  and  professional  development  in  general;  
using  the  screen  with  the  tongue,  exploring  supporting  technologies,  scattered  gameplay  
sessions,  and  interest  in  hardware  over  software  applications  are  all  examples  of  such.  These  
alternative  approaches  may  then  guide  future  interface  and  game  design,  for  instance,  and  
drive  innovation  for  both  humans  and  non-­‐humans.“  
Indeed,  it  is  definitely  more  challenging  to  work  with  the  ‘Other’,  but  it  is  also  very  inspiring.  
During  this  project  I  experienced  the  same  example  as  Wirman  mentions  in  the  above  quote.  
It  can  be  seen  as  ‘limitations’,  because  the  animal  is  not  behaving  the  way  we  were  hoping  
for.  But  on  the  other  hand,  it  leads  to  more  interesting  concepts,  by  paying  attention  to  
hardware  as  well  and  to  see  the  prototype  as  a  whole,  not  only  as  technology.  Especially  for  
the  ‘Other’  it  is  an  experience  within  its  context  that  should  not  be  forgotten  when  
designing.    
 
This  project  does  not  have  one  final  outcome,  but  a  couple  of  possible  prototypes  that  need  
further  investigation.  Given  the  fact  that  my  parrot  needs  change,  I  think  it  is  a  good  thing  to  
have  multiple  options,  to  have  the  opportunity  to  use  them  in  turns  and  thus  to  keep  it  
interesting  for  my  parrot  to  play  with.  

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6.  Future  work  

A  couple  of  limitations  have  been  faced  during  the  testing  phase.  If  there  were  no  limits  or  
restrictions,  I  would  develop  two  of  the  previous  mentioned  prototypes  into  more  playful  
settings.  Testing  them,  however,  would  probably  take  a  couple  of  weeks  or  even  months.  
Some  of  my  ideas  are  as  follows.  
 
Interactive  box:  Once  my  parrot  understands  that  something  happens  when  he  touches  the  
screen,  more  play  elements  can  be  added.  Instead  of  one  interactive  box,  there  could  be  
four  boxes,  each  with  their  own  reward.  By  pressing  the  button,  one  of  these  boxes  will  
randomly  open.  This  can  make  it  more  playful  and  perhaps  more  exciting  for  him,  because  
he  does  not  know  which  box  will  open  and  what  he  will  get.  It  contains  a  surprise  element  
that  I  think  he  would  like.  
 

 
Figure  13.  By  pressing  the  button  one  of  the  four  boxes  will  randomly  open  
 
 
Video  player:  Creating  a  simple  interactive  video  player  can  expand  this  into  a  more  fun  
idea.  My  parrot  would  than  be  able  to  choose  between  available  video  fragments,  which  

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would  give  me  insight  in  what  fragments  he  prefers.  The  iPad  screen  contains  only  one  
button  at  the  moment,  but  this  could  be  expanded  as  well.  Best-­‐case  scenario,  it  could  have  
a  couple  of  fragments  so  my  parrot  can  select  what  he  would  like  to  see.  The  selected  
fragment  will  than  play  on  the  bigger  screen  (the  laptop).  I  assume  this  concept  is  somewhat  
difficult,  since  my  parrot  needs  to  understand  that  the  fragments  represent  videos.  In  order  
to  select  the  preferred  video,  he  also  needs  to  know  what  fragment  belongs  to  which  video  
Of  course  there  is  always  the  possibility  to  randomly  click  one  of  the  clips  to  start  a  video.  
 

 
Figure  14.  Video  player  with  the  ability  to  chose  a  specific  fragment  

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7.  Knowledge  contribution  

This  research  adds  knowledge  to  the  design  community  by  providing  a  study  about  how  to  
design  for  animals  and  in  particular,  how  to  design  for  a  parrot.  Within  Interaction  Design  it  
is  also  possible  to  design  useful  and  meaningful  products  for  animals.  This  study  is  based  on  
the  needs  and  preferences  of  a  parrot,  with  the  aim  to  create  something  that  can  enrich  my  
parrot.  Creating  interactive  opportunities  (such  as  playgrounds)  for  parrots  can  also  
strengthen  the  relationship  between  the  guardian  and  the  parrot,  because  they  can  be  used  
in  training  and  as  mentioned  before,  training  should  always  be  a  fun  activity  for  both  
participants.  

There  are  a  few  things  to  keep  in  mind  when  designing  for  a  parrot.  Based  on  the  
observations  of  my  parrot,  I  here  present  guidelines  for  designing  interactive  play.  

Guidelines  
 
1. Give  the  parrot  time.  Introducing  new  objects  such  as  touch  screen  devices  takes  
time.  The  parrot  has  to  decide  whether  it  is  dangerous  to  him  or  not.  This  can  take  a  
couple  of  minutes  up  to  a  couple  of  days.  Let  the  parrot  get  familiar  to  the  new  
object(s)  at  his  own  pace  before  conducting  your  research.  It  can  help  to  play  with  
the  new  items  your  self  while  making  happy  or  exciting  sounds.  This  can  make  the  
parrot  curious  because  it  sees  you  playing  it  and  you  are  having  a  good  time.    
 
2. Find  out  what  he  likes.  To  get  the  best  results  or  to  get  the  parrot’s  attention,  it  
helps  if  you  know  what  he  likes.  This  can  be  a  certain  colour,  shape,  object  or  food.  
This  is  important,  because  it  can  be  used  as  reward  for  preferred  behaviour.  Other  
than  that,  colours  and  shapes  can  be  used  in  the  interface  design  to  drag  his  
attention.  My  parrot  seems  to  have  a  strong  preference  for  orange  and  circular  
shapes.  Therefore  I  am  using  a  combination  of  those  two  to  get  his  attention  on  the  
touch  screen.  
 
3. Set  the  parameters.  Preferences  can  change  and  it  can  happen  that  one  day  my  
parrot  does  not  like  orange  any  more  and  prefers  a  different  colour.  The  best  way  to  

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 do  this  is  to  provide  a  variety  of  parameters  (e.g.  shapes,  colours,  sizes)  over  a  couple  
of  days  and  observe  what  he  likes  or  dislikes.  A  good  way  to  do  measure  this  is  by  the  
amount  of  time  he  spends  at  a  certain  shape,  colour  or  size.  It  is  probably  the  best  to  
test  these  parameters  occasionally,  so  it  still  fits  his  needs  and  /  or  preferences.  
 
4. Screen  elements.  Based  on  the  parameters,  the  interface  can  be  designed.  According  
to  my  parrot,  these  are  the  screen  elements:  
 
a. Colour:  He  likes  orange  the  most.  Yellow  is  also  reasonable.  In  general  he  likes  
all  colours,  but  finds  these  two  the  most  compelling.  
b. Shape:  Although  he  explores  all  the  shapes,  the  circle  seems  to  be  the  most  
interesting  and  is  even  preferred  over  moving  objects.  
c. Size:  Bigger  shapes  are  more  attractive  than  smaller  shapes,  although  he  has  
a  detailed  view  and  is  able  to  see  small  icons.  Working  with  shapes  up  too  500  
by  500  pixels  gave  the  best  results.  
d. Motion:  In  general,  he  likes  moving  objects  over  fixed  objects,  but  the  circle  
seems  to  be  the  exception,  as  mentioned  before.  
e. Sound:  Sound  is  an  important  feedback  element  that  seems  to  be  the  key  
element  in  the  design.  If  there  is  no  movement  and  no  sound,  it  is  not  
interesting.  
f. Video:  Video  works  really  well  and  provides  a  lot  of  entertainment  
 
It  is  important  to  look  at  the  context,  because  the  preferences  can  change  (for  
instance,  the  Pocket  Pond  application  has  two  small  red  shapes  in  the  water  and  that  
triggers  his  attention  for  sure).    Keep  in  mind  the  aim  of  the  project  or  research.  
 
5. Interaction  possibilities.  The  interaction  possibilities  are  quite  limited  with  a  parrot  
as  user.  In  fact,  it  only  comes  down  to  ‘click’  and  ‘multi-­‐gesture’  interactions.  
 
a. Clicking.  Use  the  screen  elements  and  parameters  to  create  some  interesting  
buttons  or  feedback  when  the  touch  screen  is  being  touched.    

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 b. Multi-­‐gesture.  Especially  when  the  parrot  like  to  sit  or  walk  on  the  screen,  it  is  
possible  that  clicking  does  not  always  work,  because  it  already  registered  the  
location  of  the  foot.  Therefore  it  can  help  to  develop  something  that  allows  
multiple  input  or  gestures.  Be  careful  with  the  multi-­‐gesture  setting  though,  
since  the  parrot  is  able  to  swipe  between  different  screens.  
c. ‘Lock’  mechanism.  If  you  do  not  have  such  thing  as  a  playground  that  protects  
the  tablet  and  thus  the  ability  to  click  on  the  home  button,  develop  a  lock  
mechanism  in  the  application.  This  lock  mechanism  is  often  used  in  
applications  for  children  and  usually  involves  special  interactions  to  go  back  to  
the  menu.  (e.g.,  holding  it  for  three  seconds,  tap  the  buttons  in  a  specific  
order).  
 
6. Feedback  is  important.  Feedback  is  very  important  when  designing  for  parrots.  
Touch  screens  have  virtual  displays  and  parrots  do  not  understand  this  concept.  
Feedback  will  let  the  parrot  know  that  something  happened.    
 
a. Sound.  Sound  works  very  good  as  feedback,  as  mentioned  before.  It  certainly  
makes  the  prototype  more  interesting.  Find  out  what  sounds  the  parrot  likes  
the  most.  
b. Movement  /  disappear.  To  indicate  something  happened,  it  is  also  possible  to  
make  objects  move  over  the  screen  or  disappear  when  touched.  
c. New  screen.  If  the  aim  is  to  start  something  when  the  touch  screen  is  
touched,  there  are  a  lot  of  options,  such  as  opening  a  new  window,  showing  a  
new  button,  starting  a  video,  etc.  
 
7. Training  for  behaviour.  Now  the  important  part  starts,  by  getting  the  parrot  used  to  
the  new  prototype.  Again,  allow  the  parrot  some  time  to  get  comfortable  and  reward  
him  for  good  behaviour.  Most  likely  the  parrot  has  to  show  some  behaviour  he  is  not  
familiar  with  or  it  takes  place  in  a  new  context.  You  can  help  him  by  showing  him  
what  he  has  to  do.  He  will  probably  come  to  do  it  together  with  you.  It  is  also  
possible  to  use  clicker  training  to  learn  new  behaviour.  
 

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 8. Always  reward  for  good  behaviour.  Rewarding  works  the  best  if  you  give  something  
the  parrot  likes,  as  mentioned  in  step  2.  Because  the  parrot  did  well,  allow  him  some  
time  to  eat  the  treat  or  to  play  with  his  reward.  With  my  parrot  it  seems  to  be  the  
most  compelling  to  switch  between  rewards,  to  avoid  boredom.  With  clicker  training,  
the  click  is  the  reward  (optionally  with  a  treat).  
 
9. Repetition  is  key.  In  order  for  the  parrot  to  understand  what  you  are  asking  him  to  
do,  repeating  the  training  is  essential.  Over  time,  the  parrot  will  know  what  to  do.  
You  can  do  multiple  short  sessions  on  a  day  or  a  couple  longer  sessions  during  a  
week.  Training  and  thus  repetition  should  be  a  fun  activity  for  both.  
 
10. Observe  and  improve  at  all  times.  Of  course,  during  the  whole  project  or  research  
you  have  to  take  close  observations  of  the  parrot  and  how  he  feels.  If  he  does  not  
like  a  certain  thing,  try  to  find  something  else  that  he  does  like.  Make  notes  and  do  
not  feel  bothered  to  change  the  prototype  if  you  see  it  is  not  working.  Remember  to  
design  something  that  improves  the  animal’s  life  and  that  fits  its  needs.  
 
 
Furthermore,  I  learned  that  the  following  aspects  are  very  important  when  working  with  a  
parrot  in  a  research  or  design  project:  
 
Patience  
Working  with  a  parrot  as  user  takes  a  lot  of  time  and  requires  a  lot  of  patience  from  the  
designer  or  researcher.  A  parrot  needs  time  to  get  used  to  certain  objects,  especially  when  
they  are  new.  The  parrot  has  to  decide  first  if  it  is  a  possible  danger  to  him.  After  that,  a  
parrot  needs  time  to  understand  what  one  is  asking  him  to  do.  Even  if  the  parrot  does  
understand  what  he  has  to  do,  it  is  no  guarantee  that  he  will  show  the  requested  behaviour.  
Parrots  are  individuals  and  certainly  have  a  personality.  They  can  be  moody,  likes  humans,  
and  refuse  to  cooperate.  Not  every  user  test  will  be  a  success  and  should  preferably  be  
repeated  several  times.  Parrots  learn  by  doing  and  thus  by  repeating.  
 
Flexibility  
Parrots  are  animals  and  they  simply  do  not  always  feel  like  testing.  Therefore  it  is  important  

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to  be  flexible  and  even  to  improvise.  Forcing  an  animal  is  never  an  option,  since  this  will  
create  the  opposite  effect.  The  designer  has  to  adjust  to  the  parrot:  observe  the  parrot  
closely  and  find  out  what  he  likes  to  do.  Maybe  the  attention  of  the  parrot  can  be  triggered  
by  slightly  changing  the  prototype  or  test,  to  make  it  more  interesting.  As  a  designer  it  is  not  
always  possible  to  stick  to  your  ideas  or  schedule,  because  it  is  impossible  to  make  a  very  
detailed  plan.      
 
Creativity  
During  the  project  I  had  to  use  a  lot  of  creativity.  Maybe  the  hardest  thing  across  the  project  
was  recording  the  user  testing  with  a  camera.  I  learned  that  it  is  extremely  difficult,  since  my  
parrot  is  almost  obsessed  with  my  mobile  phone.  From  previous  experiences,  he  learned  
that  there  is  a  silicon  case  around  my  phone  that  he  wants  to  chew  on  or  even  wants  to  
destroy.  As  soon  as  he  noticed  my  camera,  he  would  jump  on  top  of  it,  because  it  was  
apparently  more  interesting  than  the  prototype  in  front  of  him.  
Hiding  the  camera  did  not  work  out.  I  tried  this  a  couple  of  times,  but  than  he  was  attracted  
by  the  towel  or  blanket  on  top  of  the  camera.  Or  he  noticed  there  was  something  new  and  
thus  interesting  to  check  out.  
What  worked  best  in  the  end  was  a  webcam  above  my  desk.  He  could  reach  it,  but  because  
it  was  out  of  his  sight  most  of  the  time,  I  think  it  did  not  bother  him.  Also,  I  did  not  pay  
attention  to  the  camera  since  I  was  not  holding  it.  Unfortunately,  when  it  becomes  a  bit  dark  
in  the  room,  the  quality  of  the  camera  drops  dramatically.  
 
Change  
Change  is  very  important  for  parrots  in  general.  They  get  easily  bored  when  doing  the  same  
thing  every  day.  Caiques  in  particular  have  to  be  busy  all  day,  keeping  their  mind  and  
intelligence  stimulated  to  avoid  boredom.  
Changing  the  prototypes  during  the  test  helped  to  keep  his  attention.    Also  changing  the  
rewards  seemed  very  important.  He  noticed  he  lost  his  interest  very  quickly,  so  I  had  to  
change  the  reward  almost  every  day  to  keep  it  exciting  for  him.  

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