This collaborative project, funded by the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS) Hub, brought together the artists Blast Theory with computer sciences from the University of Nottingham and animal experts from a range of other institutions, to create a unique art installation – a ‘cat utopia’ in which 3 cats coexisted with a robot arm!

The cats, Clover, Pumpkin and Ghostbuster enjoyed up to 6 hours a day playing with the robot – which used AI – in spaces that catered for playing, socialising, relaxing and private time.  Research workshops were initially held at the University of Nottingham’s unique Cobot Maker Space and involved experts in animal welfare to ensure the comfort and safety of the cats throughout the project.

The activities of Clover, Pumpkin and Ghostbuster were captured throughout and a short film shown at the Science Gallery, King’s College in London.

Working with Blast Theory to develop and study Cat Royale enabled researchers to gain important insights into the design of robots and its interaction with the cats.

Find out more about Cat Royale here.

Publications:

Charting Ethical Tensions in Multispecies Technology Research

Designing Multispeces Worlds for Robots, Cats and Humans