The aim of the application will be to entertain and distract a small domestic bird, ultimately directing said bird back into his cage. To do this, the application displayed fast moving elements that might look like bugs on a high contrast background, which, when tapped, produced a high pitch bird chirp sound. This noise acted as a stimulant, working on the theory of operant conditioning, using reward and reinforcement as a means of training the bird using interactive technology capabilities.
The idea for the application stems from observations of my pet budgie interacting with my mobile. Vivi often shows interest in the light, sound and movements on the screen. He sits on the phone and sometimes pecks the screen and sings when he hears a sound that he likes. Noticing this, we began playing budgie YouTube videos to catch his attention when he didn’t want to go to bed.
One evening, when he was being difficult to lure, I placed my phone into the cage with him. I later discovered that I'd been subscribed to a budgie song YouTube channel! Who knew budgies were able to activate touchscreens with their beaks?
He went on to liking Facebook comments and even playing some music. Whilst his understanding of technology is limited, it’s almost impossible to use a phone without him trying to get involved.
An application was created that successfully ran on an Android phone independent of a desktop computer. This application was interactive and employed the use of sound when interaction was successful.
First of all, a processing sketch was created. This sketch began with a bright blue visual that incorporated some decorative elements, in the form of dots, or “stars”. The opening screen was designed as an initial splash of colour, similar to a landing page, to attract the budgie’s attention. The game uses the array functionality to drop squares of varying sizes within a specified size range from the top of the screen. The squares are referred to as “insects”. When pressed, these “insects” activate a high pitched birdsong before dissapearing. The colour chosen for the squares influenced the landing screen, creating an overall theme for the app. This colour was chosen as it proved most appealing to the specific budgie user it was developed for (he's quite vain, loves his own blue).
As an additional layer, a “health bar” was added. This informs the human user of the bird user’s progress in the game by acting as a means of tracking time spent within the app and collecting a hit score. Gradually, as “insects” fall off the bottom of the screen, the health depletes and the bar shrinks and changes colour as an effect.
On the day of testing, the subject, Vivi the budgie, was a little distracted but willing to give it a go. It was his first attempt at using the app and whilst he didn't successfully activate the noise by himself, he showed interest and was eager to try. He found the sound very appealing but missed the target when tapping the screen.
With more practice and maybe some refinement to the app sounds and movements, this could be a game changer for budgies everywhere!
