How can we amplify a cat's cuteness? - Small Experiments in Life with Cats -

In recent years, the relationship between cats and humans has undergone a major update, ushering in a new era.

This series, "Neko Lab Communications," features rotating members of "Neko Lab Tokyo" (hereafter Neko Lab), a cat-specialized innovation team established within Dentsu Inc.'s creative R&D organization "Dentsu Lab Tokyo." We deliver the latest cat-related projects and unique research and development that combine technology and ideas.

This third installment, released to coincide with September 29th, "Maneki Neko Day," plays on the pun "Kuru Fuku" (coming fortune), derived from the date's numerology (9/29).

Creative Technologist Momoka Nakayama introduces several small prototypes born from experiments inspired by small observations gained from her daily life with her beloved cat, ASHBABY.

What's the Origin of the "Maneki Neko" Beaconing Pose?

While there are various theories about why the beckoning cat originated, one theory suggests its raised paw pose comes from a cat's "grooming" behavior. If true, this means a natural, everyday gesture for self-care was reinterpreted by human eyes as a "beckoning = inviting fortune" gesture.

In other words, the cat's natural gesture expanded within human society to become a symbol of "auspiciousness" and "cuteness." This is truly an "expansion of the cat's cuteness."

So, this time's theme is: "How can we further expand the cuteness of cats? "

Following this theme, we created three prototypes.

Prototype 1: How can we convey the pleasant feel of petting a cat?

The first prototype recreates the "feel of petting a cat."

Cats really do feel amazing to touch, don't they? It's not quite fluffy, nor is it smooth. But that sensation is very subjective. How could we convey it?

That's when I focused on the "piezoelectric element," a common component in electronics projects. I thought that if I placed the material directly on this part, which detects impact and vibration, and captured the vibrations, I could collect the sound of the touch sensation.

I designed the piezo element into a stethoscope-like shape that could pick up the sound of touch. When I actually stroked a cat with this device, it cleanly recorded only the "fasa fasa" sound of fur rubbing together, while filtering out ambient noise.

Recently, Apple's iPhone accessibility features even include "Music Haptics," marking the beginning of attempts to combine music with tactile feedback. In the future, we might be able to deliver ASHBABY's touch sensation directly to everyone through smartphone haptic feedback.

The R&D project " FANTOUCHIE " at Dentsu Lab Tokyo is developing a prototype that generates tactile sensations based on input words and provides feedback through a vibration speaker.

By utilizing the captured tactile sensations of ASHBABY, future applications could extend beyond recreating the feel of a cat's fur. For example, we might be able to imagine and recreate the feel of an extinct saber-toothed tiger.

Prototype 2: Expanding Cat Cuteness with Cat-Specific Filters

TikTok's Effect House allows you to recognize a cat's face and create cat-specific filters. We prototyped various filters to explore whether we could further amplify a cat's cuteness.

By making GIF animations you create appear at specific positions based on cat face recognition,

turn their eyes into manga-style eyes

adding flowers to the head

Trying to make my ears grow longer

or placing a practice 3D-modeled poop on it...

Just adding a filter makes you realize how much you want to record and share things with everyone.

Prototype 3: Can we transfer the cuteness of a cat's movements to other things?

Cats move so gracefully that you never get tired of watching them, even daily. And while they seem to do pretty much the same movements every day, they're always adorable. I wondered if I could incorporate more of these movements into everyday objects around the house, so I experimented. For example, my cat ASHBABY always comes to greet me when I get home.

So, if we were to transfer that "coming to greet" behavior to another object in the house, what would be good?

After thinking about it, I decided on a tissue box, which is about the same size as a cat. I installed a remote-controlled motor inside and tried moving it remotely.

The movements are still far from the cat's natural motions since a human is controlling it, but even so... the tissue box coming to greet you is kind of cute.

Further research revealed a case study by Hungarian 3D animation studio DIGIC Pictures, where they motion-captured a cat's movements to create animation (DIGIC Cat Reel). Incorporating such technology could potentially transfer more realistic, "cat-like movements" onto the tissue box.

We also wondered if it might play with the cat, so we tried placing the moving tissue box near a cat.

 While I can't say it fully captured the cat's movements, perhaps it's the cat's charm—I found myself interacting with it with more affection than I usually do with regular tissues.

While the original theme of this experiment was "expanding the cuteness of cats," other possibilities emerged as we worked on it.

Indoor cats inevitably have less stimulation and tend to get insufficient exercise. While getting another cat is an option, cats are solitary animals, and compatibility issues make it complicated. If everyday items could become playmates for cats in the future, it might boost their happiness.

For example Cat Royale . This art project involved a robotic arm providing play for cats while monitoring their happiness levels to explore optimal interactions. The results suggest it could at least avoid causing excessive stress.

The experiments introduced here are all just extensions of small play ideas born from everyday life.

However, by connecting cats and technology, I feel we can rediscover the incredible abilities cats possess in ways we never imagined before, while also creating new experiences. I hope to continue these small experiments together with ASHBABY.

Illustration: Momoko Negishi (Neko Lab Tokyo)

Contact: neko-lab-tokyo@dentsu.co.jp