Pluto: A Case of Reinforcement Learning in Real Life

This blog is periodically updated. Last update was on Aug 28, 2024.

Overview

Pluto is a 4-year-old cat, smart and mellow. This blog documents Pluto’s progress on using talking buttons:

• Motivation
• Vocabulary List
• Video

Motivation

I adopted Pluto from a shelter when he was about 2 years old. It didn’t take me too long to discover that he is very smart and can pick up association quickly. For example, he was no longer afraid of the vacuum cleaner starting from the third time seeing me using it. He is very quiet and mellow, so I hope using talking buttons could help him to communicate his needs to me. Each button has a recorded pronuncation of a word or a phrase, and Pluto has learned to press different buttons to express himself.

Vocabulary List

Action	Treat Pets Food Water Ear Cleaning Brush Play Shake Kiss Cuddle
Abstract	Happy Mad Want Love You Good Boy
Entity	Pluto Ge Daniel Noise Woojeong Omer
Control	Yes No All Done Now Later Ops Hmm?
Description	Come Work Sleep Talking Playing Game Pipa
Location	Outside Home Bathroom Bed

Video

You can find videos of Pluto pressting buttons on Instagram by searching rlcat.pluto.

Feel free to to email me if there are questions or comments.