A Louiswildlife Research Initiative · Berlin

The future lives
in the everyday.

Anthropology, Robotics
& Smart Living

How do we live with intelligent technologies?
We begin where life happens: at home and in the garden.

Explore the lab ↘

FIELDNOTES / 001PEOPLE · ANIMALS · TECHNOLOGY

Architectural pencil and watercolor overview of a timber cabin and riverside garden as a research field site. A cutaway reveals a living room and companion robot. A researcher takes notes in the garden. Louis and Leon explore a catio with sisal-wrapped natural trunks and a hanging hammock. Solar panels, a wind turbine, cameras, monitored birdhouse, sauna, jetty, kayak, electric boat and a floating WaterNest connect the home with its surroundings.

01 · Observe real life02 · Understand relationships03 · Inform better design

The Home and Garden as a Field SiteView illustration ↗

Intelligent devices enter our homes.
We study the lives they become part of.

Technology is social.
Context changes everything.

Research

Everyday settings.
Open questions.

We connect participant observation, interviews and everyday technology testing. Our findings inform design, education and VR scenarios.

Everyday robotics

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Living with domestic and companion robots: communication, cooperation, attachment, breakdowns and repair.

How does a new robot become part of an established household?

Smart living

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Connected devices reshape comfort, autonomy, privacy and the distribution of domestic work. We follow the routines and workarounds that emerge.

Who gains time—and who takes on new maintenance work?

Culture & interaction

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Greetings, personal space, hospitality and humour vary between people and settings. Culture is changing and internally diverse.

Who participates in deciding what an “appropriate” robot should do?

Immersive learning

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VR scenarios help people rehearse encounters with intelligent technologies. We use simulation to evaluate robot behaviour where technical access allows.

What transfers from a simulated encounter to everyday life?

Smart Pet Home Lab

↘

A dedicated research strand

HUMAN–ANIMAL–TECHNOLOGY RELATIONS

Smart Pet
Home Lab.

Freedom and safety.
For animals and people.

At our Smart Pet Home Lab, freedom and safety come first. Our Maine Coons, Louis Jr. and Leon, test smart pet technology in everyday life—from GPS trackers and pet doors to cameras, fountains and feeders that handle breakfast at 5:00 a.m.

Through participant observation, we study how these devices support cats’ independence and give people more flexibility. Louis and Leon’s comfort, choices and freedom to walk away guide our research.

Architectural pencil and watercolor concept showing outside and inside a sustainable wooden cabin. Outside, Louis the dark tabby Maine Coon and Leon the ginger Maine Coon wear slim GPS collars, black for Louis and beige for Leon, and sit facing the river. A monitored birdhouse hangs in a tree, and a floating WaterNest sits farther out in the river, separated from the cats by open water. The pitched-roof cabin stands farther back behind a large garden, with solar panels, exterior cameras and a small wind turbine. Its front catio contains natural tree trunks wrapped in sisal, climbing platforms and a hanging swing. A smaller sauna house stands near the water, beside an enlarged wooden jetty with a blue kayak and a red Sprint Junior-style boat with a compact ePropulsion-style electric outboard. Inside, a wood-faced PetWalk-style cat door is visible in the background, and the same cats sit beside two separate automatic feeders: a wood, stainless-steel and glass dry-food dispenser with kibble, and a matching wet-food feeder with stainless-steel trays, a half-open glass lid and visible electronic controls. A stainless-steel flue rises above the dark wood stove. Both concept feeders have smart displays and discreet sensors. A wood-look SwitchBot air purifier stands beside the living-room sofa. A designer cat tree by the window has natural wood trunks, sisal wrapping, padded perches and a hanging hammock. — THE SMART CABIN · OUTSIDE & INSIDEAI-generated architectural illustration · Research and design concept

Explore the illustrated setting

One home. Many relationships.

Choose a system to explore the research questions behind it.

01 / OBSERVING WILDLIFE

A birdhouse that helps us notice.

A small camera and wireless connection document visits and nesting activity. Research examines how remote observation shapes human attention, care and disturbance of wildlife.

Animal welfare comes first
Ordinary routines, freedom to avoid a device, and clear stopping criteria.

About the lab

Shared curiosity.
Shared discovery.

Initiated by
Prof. Dr. Undine Frömming

An anthropologist working across societies and artificial intelligence, humanoid robotics, visual anthropology and environmental research.

Living Futures Lab is a Louiswildlife Research Initiative that connects anthropology, design and technology. Louiswildlife sponsors the lab.

We partner with leading companies in the smart pet technology sector.

The lab is in its founding phase. We are developing its institutional arrangements, funding, facilities and research partnerships.

Built on real-world experience

The LouisWildlife connection

LouisWildlife connects nature, technology and everyday life. Our previous collaborations include PetWalk, Ring, Tractive, SwitchBot, Insta360, CAT-ON and by Benson.