The Telepresent Animal

From the perspective of your dog, you have not left, you have merely transformed into a treat-tossing robot. “Furbo is an all-in-one dog sitter that includes a camera, treat popper, barking alerts, night vision, and more!”

This is the telepresent animal we’ve been waiting for - one that is always on camera, in constant action and danger, yet never dying or even sleeping. This beautiful buck is on live webcam inside of the Grand Theft Auto game. He is “playing” as a character, designed by New Media Artist Brett Watanabe and set free inside the virtual space. With his interesting mix of artificial intelligence and deer-like qualities, he holds my attention and keeps me coming back to watch this perverse webcam inside a video game. Visit the San Andreas Webcam, you’ll see.

This is what a funeral for robots looks like. In Japan they do these for their dead pet Sony Aibo robot dogs. Read more about it here.

Jon Mooallem tells the story of the EagleCam that caused an incredible citizen action to unfold. While Minnesota Department of Natural Resources thought it best to let nature take its course, the public outcry went all the way to the governor's office. Letting a baby eagle die in the nest, while his two siblings thrived, just looked terrible and had to be stopped. Thanks, one woman wrote, for “not making us suffer watching it die. I’m not up for that learning experience.”

Robot grouse used by biologists to study the mating behavior of these birds. I wish there was a video of this, as I’d love to see what a fake bird looks like rolling across the ground and how the other birds react. 

And on the Second Livestock website.

Watching birds and squirrels on live webcam is most compelling when the feeding station is a miniature bar scene. For the art museum version of this concept of "live animal webcam set in human worlds", visit The Museum for Insects. 

Dolphin whistle instantly translated by computer. Perhaps showing the beginning of machine-learning techniques that can help us understand animals?