What cats want: an app created to 'translate' meow into human language

Engineer Javier Sanchez, who took part in the development of Amazon's voice assistant Alex, has created an application for smartphones that “translates” a cat's meow into human language, writes Air force.

Photo: Shutterstock

MeowTalk listens for animal sounds and tries to recognize their meaning.

The owner of the cat, already well aware of its behavior and desires, can participate in creating a database of meows, which will be collected by artificial intelligence.

For now, the app is limited to 13 cat phrases, which include “Feed me,” “I’m mean/evil,” and “Leave me alone.” According to scientific research, animals do not have one language that they all understand. Each sound made is unique, each cat has its own meow.

Therefore, the application does not have a common base, it is configured individually for each user. The program records the sounds of the animal and indexes them so that artificial intelligence can better perceive its voice. Understanding the cat will improve as you use the program.

According to Sanchez, in the future, the developers hope to create a smart collar for cats that can instantly translate and voice their meows in a human-readable language.

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“I think this is especially important now because social distancing means people are spending quite a lot of time at home with their cat,” Sanchez said.

“This will allow owners to communicate with their cats, or at least understand their desires, but most importantly, find a common language with them,” he emphasized.

The app is available in the Google Play Store and App Store.

Ambiguous reviews

The program was recently released, so not all user reviews are positive. Some people complain about errors that occur.

“It’s already starting to get on my nerves. I just downloaded the application and didn’t even have time to use it when a message started appearing saying that Wi-Fi is not connected,” one user wrote.

“90% of the time I received the translation “I’m in love,” another user wrote.

“I really like to think that my cats love me so much, but there was one time when they snapped and hissed, and even then the app was sure they were showing love,” he added.

But there are also positive reviews. The average rating of the program in the Google Play Store is 4,3 points.

“If you don't take it too seriously, it's a fun app. Who knows, maybe over time it will actually learn to recognize my cat's meow in any situation. There is hope for this,” the user wrote.

“It's an interesting concept. I liked her because my cat says something all the time,” another comment said.

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"For entertainment purposes only"

“Most of the time, cats do try to communicate with people, and most owners can respond,” said Juliet Jones, a feline behavior specialist at The Animals Charity.

She noted that when trying to understand his animal through the program, the owner may misinterpret his pet's meow.

“After all, inaccuracies may arise. Then the owner will not understand what the cat really wants to tell him. This can harm both her and the owner, and their relationship. For example, if a cat purrs, this does not always mean that it is happy and calm. By purring, a cat can attract attention or communicate discomfort. In its current form, such an app should only be used for entertainment purposes,” she said.

“We will probably never be able to turn a cat's meow into human words,” said cat behaviorist Anita Kelsey. “We can only entertain ourselves a little by thinking that we can understand them from our human point of view.” The app seems fun and there's nothing wrong with having fun with your pet."

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