A Talk on Animal-Machine Interaction

On June 23, 2026, Oliver Bendel gave a presentation on animal-machine interaction to Prof. Dr. Emily Cross’s research group at ETH Zurich. He had been invited by Dr. Amol Deshmukh, whom he had met at the ICSR in Qatar and had seen several times since then. From the announcement text of „Fundamentals and Examples of Animal-Machine Interaction“: „Animal-Machine Interaction (AMI) explores encounters and interactions between animals and machines – from traditional devices, vehicles, aircraft, and agricultural machinery to networked autonomous robots and AI systems. At its core are perception through sensors and senses, interaction and communication between animals and machines, and the question of how these encounters can be designed from technical, organizational, and ethical perspectives to reduce risks for animals while unlocking benefits for both animals and humans. In his lecture, Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel presents the fundamentals of Animal-Machine Interaction and describes prototypes and research projects in the field. He also outlines what may become possible and what can be expected in this area of research over the coming years.” The participants were very interested and asked several questions about this new and fascinating field. Springer Gabler recently published a slim volume titled „Tier-Maschine-Interaktion (Animal-Machine Interaction)“ by Oliver Bendel.

Fig.: Oliver Bendel during his talk (Photo: Amol Deshmukh)