Scientists creating computer games made just for parrots

By Dean Murray via SWNS

Forget about Angry Birds, researchers are perfecting computer games, especially for parrots.

A new study saw twenty pet birds analyzed as they played with touchscreen tablets.

The parrots used their tongues to play a simple game, being able to tap the screen every few milliseconds.

The researchers aim to help build technology intentionally designed for parrot enrichment and to challenge the pet bird's active minds.

In the study, Rébecca Kleinberger of Northeastern University, Megan McMahon, an undergraduate studying behavioral neuroscience; and collaborators Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas at the University of Glasgow and Jennifer Cunha in Florida used a bare-bones, Balloon Pop-style tablet game to collect data on the bird group's tactile interactions with their touchscreens.

Megan McMahon says: "Cognitive enrichment is a crucial component for parrot health and well-being, and tablet games are one method of providing this enrichment.

"Designing apps specifically made for birds and their unique touchscreen tendencies makes this form of enrichment more accessible."

The parrot participants ranged from small species, like a green-cheeked parakeet, to a hyacinth macaw, the world’s largest. All had prior experience using touchscreens and completed the study in their homes.

With the help of their caregivers, they learned to use a basic app game on Samsung Galaxy tablets. Adapted by McMahon, the game challenged the birds to tap multi-colored target circles of different sizes on varying locations around their screens with their beaks and tongues.

The birds engaged in short sessions of no longer than 30 minutes each day, playing the game over the course of three months. Seventeen completed the study, while three dropped out after showing slight signs of aggression or a lack of interest during the training period.

The game collected information on the birds’ accuracy, tap locations and frequency, as well as tactile elements like touch pressure and drag rate.

The data-based assessment revealed just how fast some parrot species can control their tongue.

Rébecca Kleinberger says: "Some parrots could touch the tablet up to 41 times in a row, resulting in a touch every few milliseconds."

In the longer term, the researchers hope the findings will serve as a starting point in adapting screen technologies for parrots and, eventually, other species.

Rébecca Kleinberger thinks it can bring some academic rigor to the booming “pet tech” market, “with new products promising to improve animal welfare with often very little data and research to back up the claims,” she says.

“My goal is for these insights not only to benefit the pet tech industry but also to offer valuable guidance to the wider research community, technology developers, (and) pet owners," Kleinberger adds.