6 ms·

Cats, lasers and Raspberry Pi

mattferderer 7y ago
Side note: some dogs also seem to enjoy & request laser pointers. We bought our pets a pre-built version of this for Christmas. They seem to enjoy it randomly going off during the day when we're not around or busy.
- tzs 7y ago
  Side side note: Eastern gray squirrels, Steller’s jays, and assorted chickadee and junco species completely ignore my green laser. I expected them to chase it, run away from it, or at least look at it a bit to determine if it was a threat, but no, I have not see any reaction at all.
  - rckoepke 7y ago
    These are animals in the wild? I personally think that pets are generally understimulated and more likely to respond to artifices like laser points. Like how rats were shown to get addicted to cocaine/morphine and waste away due to ignoring food/etc....when the rats were housed in tiny boxes with no other rats to socialize with, and no objects/toys to interact with except for the cocaine/opiate dispenser. However, when provided with a vibrant community of other rats and a highly stimulating environment, rats seem to generally not get addicted to narcotics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park It's likely that for an animal which spends most of its time in an apartment where most of the time everyone is either gone (at work) or sleeping, a laser pointer is highly stimulating. For animals who spend their lives outdoors, sensory signals related to predators, prey, food, habitat, companions, mates, and enemies....could be much much more stimulating than a laser pointer.
  - dreamcompiler 7y ago
    Jumping spiders (yes, wild ones) will chase lasers. They have excellent eyesight, unlike a lot of spiders. https://youtu.be/mQpZEwGxn7I https://youtu.be/mQpZEwGxn7I
  - pbhjpbhj 7y ago
    Have you tried red laser?
- deepspace 7y ago
  Note that using laser pointers to play with dogs is NOT recommended. It can cause stress and behavioral problems. See also: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/laser-pointers-more-frustration-than-fun/ https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/laser-pointers-m...
asdfman123 7y ago
I built this using an Arduino board once for my roommate's cat. It played with it for a little while quickly lost interest, despite how much I tweaked the randomization algorithm. (I tried stuff like truly random points, random jumps, slow movement, etc. etc.) I figured out that she played much longer when I did it by hand. I realized that when I did it manually, I'd wait for her to catch the dot and then move immediately, so I thought about making something that tracked where the cat was, too, but never got around to it.
- ebalit 7y ago
  I think you might be able to detect that the cat caught the dot by identifying an unplanned motion of the dot itself.
  - asdfman123 7y ago
    That's an excellent point and it sounds very easy to implement.
jrace 7y ago
The problem is cats get no reward from catching the red dot. For some it can be a stressful as they need to catch the prey. The key is top reward them with a treat or toy once they have caught the dot. Just like humans, endlessly chasing something that gives no rewards can lead to undesirable outcomes and behaviours.
- jamaicahest 7y ago
  Indeed. Please do not do this to your cat. It will frustrate him/her, if you don't believe me, ask your vet.
- laumars 7y ago
  Some cats are smart enough to know it's humans controlling it and enjoy chase as a bonding exercise. In fact the often repeated arguement that cats are solitary creatures who don't enjoy companionship can be quite far removed from the personalities of some cats.
- penagwin 7y ago
  I kinda want to setup a laser play toy for my cat, but have it "end" at a box that opens with a servo with some treats. That or maybe some steppers to move a stick around that has a string at the end (my cat's favorite). Hmm.... Is the consensus that as long as they have something physical to play with, or in the case of a laser have a reward after - then it won't stress them?
  - splintercell 7y ago
    What I do is I let the cat catch the dot, and right where the dot was, throw a treat. So it's almost like the treat came out as a response to cat catching the dot. I could automate this, but I won't because it's so much fun for me too. She loves it. I also make a 'buzzing' sound with my mouth whenever the dot is out. This does an amazing job at training the cat to come running to me whenever I make that 'zzzzzz' sound (which can save their lives at times).
- mrlala 7y ago
  I get what you are saying, but one of my cats is really fucking lazy so the only time she runs around is to chase the damn laser pointer. Yeah I guess I could also give her treats. But she's so fat, I don't know if that's good either.
martin_a 7y ago
Why do they use a Raspberry Pi for this? Seems like some Arduino-style microcontroller for $2 could do this just as well.
- tolqen 7y ago
  In fairness the Raspberry Pi is only $5 so it’s not like it’s a huge deal
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- catlas3r 7y ago
  Hmm, why _does_ RaspberryPi.org use a Raspberry Pi for this? I guess we'll never know.
  - martin_a 7y ago
    Yeah, you're right, my bad. -_-"
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

Side note: some dogs also seem to enjoy & request laser pointers. We bought our pets a pre-built version of this for Christmas. They seem to enjoy it randomly going off during the day when we're not around or busy.

tzs 7y ago
Side side note: Eastern gray squirrels, Steller’s jays, and assorted chickadee and junco species completely ignore my green laser. I expected them to chase it, run away from it, or at least look at it a bit to determine if it was a threat, but no, I have not see any reaction at all.
- rckoepke 7y ago
  These are animals in the wild? I personally think that pets are generally understimulated and more likely to respond to artifices like laser points. Like how rats were shown to get addicted to cocaine/morphine and waste away due to ignoring food/etc....when the rats were housed in tiny boxes with no other rats to socialize with, and no objects/toys to interact with except for the cocaine/opiate dispenser. However, when provided with a vibrant community of other rats and a highly stimulating environment, rats seem to generally not get addicted to narcotics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park It's likely that for an animal which spends most of its time in an apartment where most of the time everyone is either gone (at work) or sleeping, a laser pointer is highly stimulating. For animals who spend their lives outdoors, sensory signals related to predators, prey, food, habitat, companions, mates, and enemies....could be much much more stimulating than a laser pointer.
- dreamcompiler 7y ago
  Jumping spiders (yes, wild ones) will chase lasers. They have excellent eyesight, unlike a lot of spiders. https://youtu.be/mQpZEwGxn7I https://youtu.be/mQpZEwGxn7I
- pbhjpbhj 7y ago
  Have you tried red laser?
deepspace 7y ago
Note that using laser pointers to play with dogs is NOT recommended. It can cause stress and behavioral problems. See also: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/laser-pointers-more-frustration-than-fun/ https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/laser-pointers-m...

asdfman123 7y ago

I built this using an Arduino board once for my roommate's cat. It played with it for a little while quickly lost interest, despite how much I tweaked the randomization algorithm. (I tried stuff like truly random points, random jumps, slow movement, etc. etc.) I figured out that she played much longer when I did it by hand. I realized that when I did it manually, I'd wait for her to catch the dot and then move immediately, so I thought about making something that tracked where the cat was, too, but never got around to it.

ebalit 7y ago
I think you might be able to detect that the cat caught the dot by identifying an unplanned motion of the dot itself.
- asdfman123 7y ago
  That's an excellent point and it sounds very easy to implement.

jrace 7y ago

The problem is cats get no reward from catching the red dot. For some it can be a stressful as they need to catch the prey. The key is top reward them with a treat or toy once they have caught the dot. Just like humans, endlessly chasing something that gives no rewards can lead to undesirable outcomes and behaviours.

jamaicahest 7y ago
Indeed. Please do not do this to your cat. It will frustrate him/her, if you don't believe me, ask your vet.
laumars 7y ago
Some cats are smart enough to know it's humans controlling it and enjoy chase as a bonding exercise. In fact the often repeated arguement that cats are solitary creatures who don't enjoy companionship can be quite far removed from the personalities of some cats.
penagwin 7y ago
I kinda want to setup a laser play toy for my cat, but have it "end" at a box that opens with a servo with some treats. That or maybe some steppers to move a stick around that has a string at the end (my cat's favorite). Hmm.... Is the consensus that as long as they have something physical to play with, or in the case of a laser have a reward after - then it won't stress them?
- splintercell 7y ago
  What I do is I let the cat catch the dot, and right where the dot was, throw a treat. So it's almost like the treat came out as a response to cat catching the dot. I could automate this, but I won't because it's so much fun for me too. She loves it. I also make a 'buzzing' sound with my mouth whenever the dot is out. This does an amazing job at training the cat to come running to me whenever I make that 'zzzzzz' sound (which can save their lives at times).
mrlala 7y ago
I get what you are saying, but one of my cats is really fucking lazy so the only time she runs around is to chase the damn laser pointer. Yeah I guess I could also give her treats. But she's so fat, I don't know if that's good either.

martin_a 7y ago

Why do they use a Raspberry Pi for this? Seems like some Arduino-style microcontroller for $2 could do this just as well.

tolqen 7y ago
In fairness the Raspberry Pi is only $5 so it’s not like it’s a huge deal
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
catlas3r 7y ago
Hmm, why _does_ RaspberryPi.org use a Raspberry Pi for this? I guess we'll never know.
- martin_a 7y ago
  Yeah, you're right, my bad. -_-"

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]