ACI Conference 2026 in Switzerland

Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel will host the next ACI Conference, bringing the event to continental Europe for the first time as it convenes on the FHNW campus in Brugg-Windisch, Switzerland, from December 2-5, 2026. The conference website is already online at www.aciconf.org, where the most important information is available; individual deadlines may still change. In the meantime, the website has been updated and expanded. It now includes visual elements that reference both the animal world of Switzerland and the thematic focus of the conference, strengthening its visual identity and contextual framing. Building on a tradition that has taken the community from Glasgow to North Carolina, Newcastle, Bloomington, Milton Keynes, Haifa, and Atlanta, this edition continues the conference’s role as a leading venue for advancing Animal-Computer Interaction. As the field grows, researchers and practitioners explore how technology shapes animals‘ lives, welfare, cognition, and social dynamics while developing animal-centered systems and methods that embrace multispecies perspectives. The conference maintains its commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration across biology, technology, and cultural studies, supporting work that seeks to design ethically grounded, welfare-enhancing, and inclusive technological futures for all animals, humans included. ACI 2026 will also feature a Special Issue on Animal-Machine Interaction, a research field shaped in important ways by Oliver Bendel. The conference proceedings will be published in a volume of a renowned organization, ensuring wide visibility and long-term accessibility for the contributions presented.

Fig.: ACI 2026 in Switzerland

ACI Conference Website Online

Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel will host the next ACI Conference, bringing the event to continental Europe for the first time as it convenes on the FHNW campus in Brugg-Windisch, Switzerland, from December 2–5, 2026. The conference website is already online, and the most important information is available at www.aciconf.org; individual deadlines may still change. Building on a tradition that has taken the community from Glasgow to North Carolina, Newcastle, Bloomington, Milton Keynes, Haifa, and Atlanta, this edition continues the conference’s role as a leading venue for advancing Animal-Computer Interaction. As the field grows, researchers and practitioners explore how technology shapes animals’ lives, welfare, cognition, and social dynamics while developing animal-centered systems and methods that embrace multispecies perspectives. The conference maintains its commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration across biology, technology, and cultural studies, supporting work that seeks to design ethically grounded, welfare-enhancing, and inclusive technological futures for all animals, humans included. ACI 2026 will also feature a Special Issue on Animal-Machine Interaction, a research field shaped in important ways by Oliver Bendel. The proceedings will be published in a volume of a renowned organization.

Fig.: The ACI Conference Website

ACI 2026 in Switzerland

Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel will host the next ACI Conference, marking the first time the event comes to continental Europe as it convenes on the FHNW campus in Brugg-Windisch, Switzerland, from 2-5 December 2026. Building on a tradition that has taken the community from Glasgow to North Carolina, Newcastle, Bloomington, Milton Keynes, Haifa and Atlanta, this edition continues the conference’s role as the premier venue for advancing Animal-Computer Interaction. As the field grows, researchers and practitioners explore how technology shapes animals‘ lives, wellbeing, cognition and social dynamics while developing animal-centered systems and methods that embrace multispecies perspectives. The conference maintains its commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration across biology, technology and cultural studies, supporting work that seeks to design ethically grounded, welfare-enhancing and inclusive technological futures for all animals, humans included. The official conference website will go live in January 2026. Information on previous ACI conferences is available at www.aciconf.org.

Fig.: A big and a small elephant

Grundlagen der Tier-Maschine-Interaktion

Am 18. November 2025 hat Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel bei Springer Gabler sein neues Manuskript abgegeben, am 26. November wurde es von der Lektorin abgenommen. Im Frühjahr 2026 erscheint das schmale Buch mit dem Titel „Tier-Maschine-Interaktion“. Am Anfang wird der Inhalt skizziert: „Dieses Essential gibt eine kompakte Einführung in die Disziplin bzw. das Forschungs- und Anwendungsfeld der Tier-Maschine-Interaktion (TMI). Es zeigt, wie Tiere und Maschinen in unterschiedlichen Kontexten zusammentreffen und miteinander bestehen, welche Chancen und Risiken sich daraus ergeben und welche Perspektiven sich für Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft und Politik eröffnen. Ziel ist es, die Leser für die Potenziale und Herausforderungen der Tier-Maschine-Interaktion zu sensibilisieren, Orientierung im interdisziplinären Diskurs zu geben und Anregungen für Forschung, Entwicklung und Entscheidungsprozesse zu liefern.“ Es ist das erste Buch zu diesem Thema. Es enthält zwei Abbildungen, drei Tabellen und mehrere Boxen mit Definitionen und Hintergrundinformationen.

Abb.: Auch um Kängurus kann es in der TMI gehen