:: neil clark | Bottlenose Dolphin Computer Interaction (BnDCI) ::

April 6, 2007 in ASL, Communication, Education, Sign Language

Bottlenose-Dolphin-Computer-Interaction (BnDCI)

Published April 5th, 2007 in Media Experience.

From this study [here], which I stumbled upon recently, apparently elephants are one of a few animals that can realize that they’re looking at themselves in a mirror.

“Scientists have tested mirror self-recognition in a variety of animals other than humans and great apes, but invariably failed, with the exception of the bottlenose dolphin. “After the recent discovery that dolphins are capable of recognizing themselves in the mirror, elephants seemed the next logical species for testing,” said Reiss. “Humans, great apes, dolphins and elephants, well known for their superior intelligence and complex social systems, are thought to possess the highest forms of empathy and altruism in the animal kingdom.”

This made me wonder whether great apes, bottlenose dolphins and elepnants would be able to recognize their own virtual world representation. Obviously, seeing yourself in the mirror is a little bit different than owning it up in Warsong Gulch, but it made me wonder. If given the right trunk and tusk attachments, or the right fin and flipper nodules, would another kind of animal be capable of partaking in the gaming experience? We’ve already seen that primates can learn to sign, as seems to be the case with Koko the gorilla [Here], who has apparently learned American sign language (ASL), as well as created terms in Gorilla sign language (GSL[ROFL]).

Human computer interaction (HCI) is the art of creating devices that help us to navigate computers (and online games, obviously). Could bottlenose dolphin computer interaction (BnDCI) be helping our aquatic allies to roll on epic drops?

Time will tell.