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​This year's General Chair is Oliver Bendel, professor at this university since 2009. He is a philosopher of technology focusing on robots and AI systems, including their relation to animals. In particular, he has shaped the research field of animal-machine interaction (AMI) since 2012.

 

​​​​​​ACI is the leading international conference on Animal-Computer Interaction. It is a highly multidisciplinary event, drawing researchers and practitioners from diverse backgrounds to share and discuss work and topics related to the research and design of computing-enabled and interactive technology for and with animals. We are keen to be as inclusive as possible. We wish to welcome a wide range of contributions and participants to the conference, promote a constructive dialogue around the animal-centered research and design of computing-enabled systems, and foster the development of ACI as a discipline. The conference is open to contributions from researchers and practitioners in a wide range of fields, including computer science, compuer science, engineering, interaction design, animal behavior and welfare science, veterinary science, ecology, sociology, philosophy, and more. Each of these disciplines brings a different and valuable perspective to the field, so multidisciplinary contributions with a focus on animal-centered interactions involving technology are both valuable and encouraged.

 

We live in a world that is increasingly networked, in which (nonhuman and human) animals are increasingly entangled in webs of interactions that affect them in different, more or less obvious ways, whether positively or negatively. Particularly in light of computing advances such as pervasive systems, Internet of things and artificial intelligence, the notion of interaction has to be understood in the broadest possible sense, whether interactions are direct or indirect, dyadic or distributed, passive or active, cognitive or physical, co-located or remote, synchronous or asynchronous.

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Submissions might address topics such as: how to conduct ACI research in a world where commercial design and deployment of technology for animals outpaces academic thought; the role of technology in human-animal relationships; studies and/or analysis of deployments of technology for animals; considerations in the broader context of technology for animal use or for use of technology on or with animals; or methods and reflections on studying the next generation of technology for or to study animals.

 

We appreciate high-quality articles on any topic related to ACI. If your work broadly pertains to animals and technology and aligns with our community expectations of ethical treatment of animals, it is likely a fit for the ACI community. For more details, go to "For Authors".

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Submitted papers will undergo peer review, and accepted papers will be presented at the ACI International Conference 2026 in Switzerland and published in the ACI 2026 Proceedings on the ACM Digital Library. This includes accepted research papers, emerging work papers, and workshop submissions.​​