The research team, led by Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas from the University of Glasgow and Vilma Kankaanpaa of Aalto University in Finland, found that the sakis’ interactions were mostly short, lasting only a few seconds The enrichment device stationed inside the saki enclosure. 'While they chose audio more regularly than video, the results weren’t statistically significant enough for us to know for sure what they prefer.' 'Similarly, their varying levels of interaction over time could be reflective of how engaging they found the content, or simply that they were becoming habituated to the tunnel’s presence in their enclosure. 'Further study could help us determine whether the short interactions were simply part of their typical behaviour, or reflective of their level of interest in the system. 'Our findings raise a number of questions which are worthy of further study to help us build effective interactive enrichment systems. 'Previously, we have explored how they interacted with video content and audio content, but this is the first time we’ve given the option to choose between the two. Of the three audio files provided, they listened to music the most, and their favourite video was the underwater scene.ĭr Hirskyj-Douglas, of the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science, said: 'We’ve been working with Korkeasaari Zoo for several years now to learn more about how white-faced sakis might benefit from computer systems designed specifically for them. They also found that the monkeys triggered the audio stimuli twice as much as visual stimuli but, over time, level of interaction dropped with both.Īdditionally their interactions with visual stimuli increased in comparison with the audio stimuli over the course of the experiment. This mirrored the way they acted around objects they were already familiar with in their enclosure. The research team, led by Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas from the University of Glasgow and Vilma Kankaanpaa of Aalto University in Finland, found that the sakis’ interactions were mostly short, lasting a few seconds. This builds on the team's previous research that used a similar system to measure the sakis' interactions initially with video alone and then with audio alone, but this is the first media player that offers them multiple types of stimuli. The device continued playing for as long as they chose to stay, and recorded what they were watching and listening to as well as how long they stayed in the interactive zone.įor the last week of the experiment, the tunnel returned to being non-interactive again before the scientists studied the results. The primates could choose between an audio or video stimulus when they passed through the infrared beam. These were intended to mimic the sights and sounds they may experience in the wild. They would be shown a rotating selection of rain sounds, music or traffic noises, and videos of worms, underwater scenes or abstract shapes and colours, changing every few days. Then, for 18 days, the animals would trigger a video or sound when walking through infra-red beams in designated interactive zones. The Scottish researchers tested their new multimedia system on three white-faced saki monkeys, Pithecia pithecia, at Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki, Finland.Ī small computer was placed inside a wood-and-plastic tunnel in the monkeys’ enclosure for 32 days.įor the first week of the experiment, the tunnel was silent in order to allow the sakis to get used to its presence in their enclosure. Scientists are looking into how technology can be used to keep the minds of the most intelligent species, like primates, active as if they were in the wild. Enrichment is incredibly important for maintaining the mental and physical welfare of zoo animals.
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