Playing video games is a straightforward sequence of actions that read information on the screen, judge what’s going on, and enter appropriate actions to earn rewards, and require advanced intelligence. A research team at Purdue University in the US reported that pigs can play video games using a joystick, attracting attention.
The experiments used were two Yorkshire pigs named Hamlet and Omelette, and two mini pigs named Ebony and Ivory. In front of a computer monitor, a pig was placed with a joystick that can be operated using its nose, and in the experiment, all four pigs were trained to operate the joystick.
The playable game deals with hitting a cursor that can be operated with a joystick against a wall of up to 3 displayed on the screen. Play time was 10 minutes once a day, 5 days a week. Pigs were fed as a reward for clearing the game to enhance pig behavior.
Hamlet and omelette scores did not achieve a significant score with three walls, but with one or two walls, the score exceeded accidental success. In addition, when it was three walls, Irony and Ebony showed a score that exceeded their accidental success. Only ivory scored a significant score on two walls, but all scored a lot on one wall, but the ivory scored higher.
The research team also revealed that communication could have had a significant impact on pig learning. For example, there was a scene where it was thought that when a machine was unable to distribute food well, it showed a cry and a reaction to a physical contact, and when a game task was difficult, it was thought to be contacted with a cry.
The research team estimates that the results that thumbless animals have been successful in playing games using joysticks are remarkable. The researchers say it’s a great feat for animals to grasp the notion that their behavior is affecting others. The fact that pigs can play video games is what pigs can learn and how that learning affects pigs. Explained that it gives room for thought.
The research team also added that it is important to refer to how they interact with pigs and how pigs do what they do, and that pigs have an ethical duty to understand how they can acquire information, learn and remember what they do. Related information can be found here .