Name: Animals Take Control: Technology for Enrichment and Connection
Start: 2025-02-07T19:45:00-05:00
End: 2025-02-07T21:00:00-05:00
Location: Peabody Essex Museum

Animals Take Control: Technology for Enrichment and Connection

Friday, February 7, 2025 from 7:45—9 pm
Zoom webinar
Free
This event is co-hosted by the Essex County Ornithological Club. A brief meeting of the club will be held from 7:30–7:45 pm. All are welcome to attend!
Can technology support the well-being of birds and other animals? In this virtual program, researcher Rébecca Kleinberger shares recent results from a variety of studies at the INTERACT Animal Lab at Northeastern University, including a novel system enabling pet birds to initiate video calls with other birds. Kleinberger will also present ongoing collaborations between the lab she directs and local partners, including Zoo New England and the New England Aquarium, to assess and measure enrichment effectiveness.
Kleinberger will speak to how her lab's research projects represent a shift in human-animal interaction research away from interspecies communication, toward creating opportunities for meaningful interspecies connection.
Register Here: pem.org/events/animals-take-control-technology-for-enrichment-and-connection
This program is supported by The Echo Charitable Foundation.
About our Collaborator:
Rébecca Kleinberger, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Northeastern University, where she directs the INTERACT Animal Lab, holding joint appointments with the College of Arts, Media and Design and Khoury College of Computer Sciences. She leads research that transforms how we think about and design technology for animals, focusing on ethical enrichment and meaningful interspecies connections. Kleinberger develops innovative systems that give animals greater control over their environment and social interactions. Her work spans multiple species, from enabling parrots to initiate video calls with other birds to creating acoustic monitoring systems for giant pandas. The lab collaborates with zoos, wildlife centers and veterinary clinics to design and evaluate technologies that enhance animal wellbeing.
Kleinberger's interdisciplinary approach combines science, engineering, design and sounds to create experiences that bridge species boundaries. Her research has been covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, BBC, the Guardian, CNN, NPR and TED, contributing to broader discussions about technology's role in fostering meaningful connections across species.