Active interactions between animals and technology : biohybrid approaches for animal behaviour research

Abstract

Biohybrid approaches (where living and engineered components are combined) provide new opportunities for advancing animal behaviour research and its applications. This review article and accompanying special issue explores how different types of novel technologies can be used in the field of animal behaviour from three perspectives: (1) comprehension, (2) application and (3) integration. Under the perspective of ‘comprehension,’ we present examples of how technologies like virtual animals or robots can be used in experimental settings to interact with living animals in a standardized manner. Such interactions can advance our understanding of fundamental topics such as mate choice, social learning and collective behaviour. Under ‘application,’ we investigate the potential for technologies to monitor, react and interact with animals in a variety of scenarios. For example, we discuss how drones can be used to keep large herbivores away from valuable crops and robotic predators to deter invasive species. Under ‘integration,’ we discuss possibilities for the coexistence of engineered and biological systems, augmenting the capacity or resilience of either or both components. Integration can be physical, for example, livestock can have sensors sit in their inner body for temperature monitoring, or within the environment, where sensors or robots monitor and interact with animals, such as a short-term earthquake forecasting method. Based upon these three themes, we discuss and classify existing biohybrid animal behaviour research, including the four articles included in our special issue. We also consider the ethics of this emerging field, highlight the advantages and potential issues associated with using technologies to create biohybrid systems and emphasize how such technologies can support the advancement of animal behaviour research.