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

M. Papadopoulou; M. Ball; P. Bartashevich; A. L. J. Burns; V. Chiara; M. A. Clark; B. R. Costelloe; M. Fele; F. French; S. Hauert; M. K. Heinrich; J. E. Herbert-Read; J. Hoitt; C. C. Ioannou; T. Landgraf; S. R. Matchette; G. Polverino; D. W. E. Sankey; D. M. Scott; V. H. Sridhar; D. Strömbom; V. Trianni; T. T. Vo-Doan; A. J. King

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123160

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

M. Papadopoulou^*, M. Ball, P. Bartashevich, A. L. J. Burns, V. Chiara, M. A. Clark, B. R. Costelloe, M. Fele, F. French, S. Hauert, M. K. Heinrich, J. E. Herbert-Read, J. Hoitt, C. C. Ioannou, T. Landgraf, S. R. Matchette, G. Polverino, D. W. E. Sankey, D. M. Scott, V. H. SridharD. Strömbom, V. Trianni, T. T. Vo-Doan, A. J. King

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

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.

Original language	English
Article number	123160
Number of pages	15
Journal	Animal Behaviour
Volume	224
Early online date	30 Apr 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123160
Publication status	Published - 1 Jun 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Keywords

behavioural control
behavioural monitoring
biomimetic robotics
ethorobotics
interspecies interaction
sensory integration

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Papadopoulou, M., Ball, M., Bartashevich, P., Burns, A. L. J., Chiara, V., Clark, M. A., Costelloe, B. R., Fele, M., French, F., Hauert, S., Heinrich, M. K., Herbert-Read, J. E., Hoitt, J., Ioannou, C. C., Landgraf, T., Matchette, S. R., Polverino, G., Sankey, D. W. E., Scott, D. M., ... King, A. J. (2025). Active interactions between animals and technology: biohybrid approaches for animal behaviour research. Animal Behaviour, 224, Article 123160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123160

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title = "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 {\textquoteleft}comprehension,{\textquoteright} 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 {\textquoteleft}application,{\textquoteright} 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 {\textquoteleft}integration,{\textquoteright} 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.",

keywords = "behavioural control, behavioural monitoring, biomimetic robotics, ethorobotics, interspecies interaction, sensory integration",

author = "M. Papadopoulou and M. Ball and P. Bartashevich and Burns, {A. L. J.} and V. Chiara and Clark, {M. A.} and Costelloe, {B. R.} and M. Fele and F. French and S. Hauert and Heinrich, {M. K.} and Herbert-Read, {J. E.} and J. Hoitt and Ioannou, {C. C.} and T. Landgraf and Matchette, {S. R.} and G. Polverino and Sankey, {D. W. E.} and Scott, {D. M.} and Sridhar, {V. H.} and D. Str{\"o}mbom and V. Trianni and Vo-Doan, {T. T.} and King, {A. J.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. ",

year = "2025",

month = jun,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123160",

language = "English",

volume = "224",

journal = "Animal Behaviour",

issn = "0003-3472",

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}

Papadopoulou, M, Ball, M, Bartashevich, P, Burns, ALJ, Chiara, V, Clark, MA, Costelloe, BR, Fele, M, French, F, Hauert, S, Heinrich, MK, Herbert-Read, JE, Hoitt, J, Ioannou, CC, Landgraf, T, Matchette, SR, Polverino, G, Sankey, DWE, Scott, DM, Sridhar, VH, Strömbom, D, Trianni, V, Vo-Doan, TT & King, AJ 2025, 'Active interactions between animals and technology: biohybrid approaches for animal behaviour research', Animal Behaviour, vol. 224, 123160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123160

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T2 - biohybrid approaches for animal behaviour research

AU - Papadopoulou, M.

AU - Ball, M.

AU - Bartashevich, P.

AU - Burns, A. L. J.

AU - Chiara, V.

AU - Clark, M. A.

AU - Costelloe, B. R.

AU - Fele, M.

AU - French, F.

AU - Hauert, S.

AU - Heinrich, M. K.

AU - Herbert-Read, J. E.

AU - Hoitt, J.

AU - Ioannou, C. C.

AU - Landgraf, T.

AU - Matchette, S. R.

AU - Polverino, G.

AU - Sankey, D. W. E.

AU - Scott, D. M.

AU - Sridhar, V. H.

AU - Strömbom, D.

AU - Trianni, V.

AU - Vo-Doan, T. T.

AU - King, A. J.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

PY - 2025/6/1

Y1 - 2025/6/1

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - behavioural control

KW - behavioural monitoring

KW - biomimetic robotics

KW - ethorobotics

KW - interspecies interaction

KW - sensory integration

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U2 - 10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123160

DO - 10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123160

M3 - Review article (Academic Journal)

AN - SCOPUS:105003960360

SN - 0003-3472

VL - 224

JO - Animal Behaviour

JF - Animal Behaviour

M1 - 123160

ER -

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

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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