5. Unpacking the RoboRoach
Remote controlling
a cockroach
for educational purposes
by invasively interfacing with its antennas
in a lab experiment.
6. Exploring the boundaries
Anthropomorphism
is tricky
Observing
Remote controlling
Goals matter, but
aims don’t justify
a rabbit, a cat, a dog, a human
means.
a cockroach
Physical integrity as a
as a toy
for educational purposes
natural right
without bodily harm
by invasively interfacing
as a hobby.
in a lab experiment.
Innovation versus
custom/culture.
16. Conclusio
Be open and discover something new every day.
Embrace the unknown, but reflect often.
Help create a better world.
Don’t bowl alone, build networks that ‘live’
social responsibility to help each other.
I want to start with an example of a moral maze.This video is demonstrating the RoboRoach, a 99$ toolkit with which you can turn an ordinary cockroach into a science experiment about brain computer interfaces:You pierce the armour plate, attach the interface, clip off the antenna, the insert metal rods in them and connect them with the interface.
That sounds too gruesome for a Sunday, so let’s quickly focus on something positive again. Here’s an outlook on what we will haveat the end of this session.Ring Bell.
And I mean the roboroach, not the cake research!
I apologise again for this disturbing video. And again I can only remind us of the positive awaiting us.Ring Bell again.
But let’s go further. What if we could look into our heads? In fact we can. What a decade ago was still the privilege of wealthy medical departments is today affordable for the home.
Not the way you might expect. This graph shows results from an experiment where we used videos (e.g. a Hitchcock film sequence creating a situation of surprise) to get human subjects into a particular affective state (surprise, boredom, …).We measured the EEG signals, trained a complex statistical model, and in the end were able to predict with good prediction scores whether a certain affective state was achieved. The aim of this research was to train an automated observation system with which we can evaluate learning contents for their affective quality – and pathway. Ultimately aiming to use this to create better situations of flow.
That was heavy weight stuff, right? But: your endurance is not without reward.Just bear with me for a final reflection on what we can take home from this.Ring Bell.
