Hello everyone! I am looking for cat owners keen to help out with a research project, I am studying cats to see whether we can estimate their age just by their voices. 🗣️🐈 For this, I need data. Lots of it.

It’s quick and simple - please help me by recording your furry friend’s meows according to the specific instructions in the image below.* 📝🎤 Any contribution is invaluable and will help gain insight into the development of age-related vocalisation patterns in cats! 🧠🐾

The more meows the better, so please feel free to send me multiple recordings! 🎧📈

*n.b. By sending this data, you are consenting to its use for research purposes as part of a deep learning tool for age estimation of the domestic cat. This study aims to develop a non-invasive method to determine a cat’s age through vocalisations. This approach promises significant benefits in veterinary care, can aid rescue centres in creating accurate adoption profiles, and has potential implications for understanding the age demographics of feral cats.

** EDIT:

Adding some additional info following a user comment

This is part of my dissertation project for my MSc in AI, I am working on building a pipeline for age prediction based on vocalisations. While the primary goal is to achieve a robust deep learning model for age estimation in cats, this project could serve as a pipeline for other species in future. I ultimately want to work in the field of bioacoustics and use the sounds of nature for work in conservation efforts, this is the first step towards that.

Depending on how the project goes, I would like to build an app so that this can be used in the field by veterinarians and rescue centres and the such. Of course this would include a whole lot of extra GDPR and real-time processing efforts. If time allows it I might build one for demonstration purposes and release it in the future.

I will release the implementation details in full upon completion. I am working through comparative development of certain architectures which I think will be useful for the wider field.

I do not have a conflict of interest. I recommend Dolby On to record the meows as it allows for Waveform Audio File format (.wav) recordings that I require for processing and feature extraction, and easy exports.

Here is a copy of the email that each participant receives, detailing data subject rights and right to withdraw at any time:

Any other questions, just let me know! I really appreciate any input and participation, thanks :)

  • Altima NEO@lemmy.zipEnglish
    0·
    6 months ago

    Mine doesn’t even meow, she only makes the cat activation sound, but all the time. Especially when running and jumping.

  • morrowind@lemmy.ml
    0·
    6 months ago

    I already have an app that can record lossless audio, is that fine, or is there something special on the Dolby app?

  • stoneparchment@possumpat.io
    0·
    6 months ago

    What organization are you researching with? Why is the submission via Gmail?

    How are you handling participant data (mostly email addresses, it seems)? Can participants opt out and revoke access to the data after submission?

    Do you have a conflict of interest? Do you or any of your colleagues have an affiliation with Dolby or other companies involved in the research?

    Did this proposal pass IRB? I’m guessing it’s exempt, so probably yes, but do you have the approval number?

    What do you plan on doing with the model? Are these data for training the model or for testing it?

    I know those questions sound a lil aggro, and to be clear, I don’t think there are necessarily right answers. Maybe you’re an undergraduate or hobbiest, like… I don’t think IRB is super important for a cute cat study. But I do think this kind of info should be included in recruitment calls as a standard!

    Cheers, seems cute and fun

  • alehc@slrpnk.net
    0·
    6 months ago

    Sounds like a cool project! I have some questions just out of curiosity.

    • What type of model are you considering? Would it potentially fit in mobile devices? Would love to open an app or smth after meeting a random cat in the street to estimate its age lol.
    • How many recordings are you planning to work with? I don’t have experience with audio but with NLP and many other domains NNs require huge amounts of data to work correctly. What are you thinking to mitigate this issue?
    • Do you plan to open-source the model or notify us again when its ready somehow?

    Good luck with the project! My cats very rarely meow but if I get to record them I’ll send it to ya.