Slashdot Mirror
Mood-Sensing Computer
handy_vandal writes "'A team at Vanderbilt University is ... developing a robotic assistant whose goal is .. [to] respond to the moods of its human master.' For use on the battlefield -- e.g. when a soldier is overcome with anxiety."
iMac's that change color based on your mood? That's clever marketing.
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
If you want a computer to sense my mood it might be better to put at least a bit of protection on it. It's not my mood it has to worry about it's my sledgehammer.
Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
Sir, it seems the entire 3rd Division is feeling a little anxious.
You will also note that most of the Marines in the 187th Expeditionary Force are also nervous about their impending landing.
Lastly sir, the pilots have... the heebee jeebies.
Impending War/Risk of painful death == anxiety
ZOMG I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS ON MACINTOSH VERSUS WINDOWS, VI VERSUS EMACS, AND HOW YOU'RE NOT A DORK
Haven't you noticed when you strike the keys harder and/or faster the computer does what you want? C'mon guys, EVERYONE knows that!! Come to think of it, this tatic is effective on co-workers too.
you'd need a Beowulf cluster of mood-sensing computers.
hi, i'm Hal, and i'm really sorry your windows box got hacked. want a beer?
I don't know about you guys but if I am having a panic attack the last thing I want to do is talk to anyone. You just want to get out of where you are, fight or flight. Having a robot asking me questions about how I feel really wouldn't ease any of my anxiety. Although a nice feature would be for the robot to dispense some xanax.
A computer that understands what it means when I hold a shotgun to it.
My postings are informational and does not constitute legal advice. Act on it at your risk.
"The human commander may get into trouble but be unable to ask for help," said Nilanjan Sarkar, team member and assistant professor of Vanderbilt University's Department of Mechanical Engineering.
"In cases like these his robot assistant will be able to detect his stress and either communicate the need for assistance or assist in some way itself."
So, if the machine can do that, what's to stop some meathead Pentagon desk-bound General from deciding that having a fallable commander on the field is worth it?
I know it's a stretch, but not that much of one...
Of course, I don't think we will ever get rid of the human equation in the battlefield, and nor should we.
I have the part in Ender's Game in my head where Razor Mackham talks to Ender about the importance of having individual command, instead of one central brain...
IN SOVIET RUSSIA, sig changes you!
Okay, so it takes account your jaw movements and sweat and heartbeat and brow movements. There seems to be an awful lot of leeway there. I hope that they are doing studies on soldiers that have performed well in actual combat to make sure that the robots aren't just sensing what is SUPPOSED to happen during combat. As is said in the article, this is all based on observable emotion which can vary from person to person, or even as the endorphins or adrenaline starts rushing. Along with that, if the commander starts depending on the little robat to give it pep talks, what happens when it gets blown to small little tin bits? Will the commander be able to function without it or will it become a "necessary" aid? Feels like too many holes in the purpose, use and functionality, even for a "few years" from now.
could a beowulf cluster of these be used to automatically download pr0n?
Repeal the DMCA!
Feeling Blue? This Robot Knows It By Louise Knapp Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,56921, 00.html
02:00 AM Jan. 01, 2003 PT
Science fiction often depicts robots of the future as machines that look like people and feel, or at least hanker after the ability to feel, human emotions.
A team at Vanderbilt University is turning this notion on its head by developing a robotic assistant whose goal is not to develop emotions, but rather respond to the moods of its human master.
By processing information sent from physiological sensors the human counterpart wears, the Vanderbilt robot can detect when its master is having a bad day and approach with the query: "I sense that you are anxious. Is there anything I can do to help?"
But do people really want a machine sensing their anxiety and offering assistance?
If that's all the Vanderbilt robot was intended to do, it wouldn't have much shelf life. But the research team has a specific kind of service in mind for its mechanical assistant.
Researchers envision the emotion-sensing robot serving military personnel on the battlefield.
"The human commander may get into trouble but be unable to ask for help," said Nilanjan Sarkar, team member and assistant professor of Vanderbilt University's Department of Mechanical Engineering.
"In cases like these his robot assistant will be able to detect his stress and either communicate the need for assistance or assist in some way itself."
The robot's sensors consist of an electrocardiogram to record heartbeat, a skin sensor that can detect tiny changes in sweat production, an electromyography sensor that detects minute muscle activity in the jaw and brow, a blood-volume pressure sensor that measures the constriction on the arteries and a temperature sensor.
"The robot uses algorithms to translate the information it gets from the sensors into a format it can understand," Sarkar said. "One of our most important claims is that the robot can process this information in real time."
So far tests with the robot have proved promising. The machine responds on cue to signals of distress and approaches its human counterpart to ask if he's OK.
The robot's biggest hurdle may not be its design but rather its human counterpart accepting it as a trusted assistant.
"Speaking as a former soldier, the last thing I would want is an artificial girlfriend by my side to nag me about how I am feeling while out in the battlefield," said John Petrik, corporate communications officer at the Office of Naval Research.
But, Petrik added, as one of the project's sponsors, the ONR believes the research has potential to develop smarter robotic aids for military use.
Other robotics researchers agree that the Vanderbilt robot has potential but needs fine-tuning.
"Taking these (physiological) signals is certainly a good indication of the human state, but we are at a very primitive stage of understanding the relation between the internal states -- what is observable -- and human emotion," said Takeo Kanade, director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.
The Vanderbilt team has time to work the kinks out of its robot's emotion-detecting abilities. Sarkar admits that it will be a few more years before the robot makes it onto the battlefield.
"If, therefore, any be unhappy, let him remember that he is unhappy by reason of himself alone."
~Epictetus
http://saveie6.com/
Hey computer, you come here often?
I can see it now. Our soldier, covered in camo, lying in a sniping position, ready to off Osama... thinks of his wife for a second...
...
1) Mood pc starts flashing bright red.
2)
3) Game over man!
I got a sig so you would remember me.
Mood sensing computers bring visions of those annoying gadgets in Red Dwarf and Hitchhikers.
Now that this has been said let's retire the humour aspect unless it's a really good one.
Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
"It looks like you're trying to take cover under enemy fire. Do you need some help taking cover?"
"Einstein argued that [...] God is not capricious or arbitrary. No such faith comforts the software engineer." ~ Brooks
If it can cater to that need ... then it is DEFINANTELLY slashdot worthy and should be expanded to a market far wider than the military.
Ignore the "p2p is theft" trolls, they're just uninformed
Hmm....mood sensing? :D
It'd be sad when one day your computer will be telling you, "I'm not in the mood, I have a headache."
My postings are informational and does not constitute legal advice. Act on it at your risk.
that they are nervous because they know they are about to GET SHOT AT? I mean, seriously, most people who are in that situation are a little nervous, I'm sure...I'm nervous they're gonna reinstate the draft...
====
Crudely Drawn Games
So when you're drunk it can stop you from driving.
And if you're really drunk it can keep you from calling exgirlfriends.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
Bloody Paperclip!!
"Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far
Ultimaly doesn't this cause more stress for the soldier? It's one more thing to worry about. If the computer says that your stress level is 10 percent above the norm for a battlefield soldier do you miss a promotion? The information would definately be factored into evaluations. The benefit is questionable but the potential is there for abuse.
This thing would have me floored. Surfing for pr0n would not only become easy, but dangerous...
"I don't like this kind of pr0n Dave..."
After the computer fails to sense your mood...
"I know I've made some very poor pr0n decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal."
Okay, you caught me, all I did was grab some 2001 quotes and insert pr0n. Give me KARMA!
Happy New Years!!!!
Life is like pants... fit in or you don't fit in.
I thought that sex toys were already in a soldiers basic survival kit.
As much as an electronic shrink on the battlefield would be nice, I have a feeling I would be slightly less anxious if instead of a friendly electronic friend, I had a large, heavily armed, mech-like friend.
The government will buy ANYTHING that sounds cool, whether or not they need it.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
Computer: "Sir, I have noticed you are feeling a little horny today, and have downloaded some pr0n for you..."
User: "Gah!...How many times do I have to tell you???! I only looked at the dwarf stuff once out of curiosity."
Computer:"Sir I notice you are becoming slightly irritated.... perhaps a wank will calm you down? Observe the dwarf pr0n.... Observe the dwa.. #clik#
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
Slashdot filler
Many people have suggested that, but without the going on the battlefield, and no robot needed. How great is that? Shoot me up!
"I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots." George HW Bush
It senses my "mood" and decides to switch on a little adult entertainment. I'm thinking that this feature should, of course, have an off button.
Things could get a little upsetting if it suddenly picks up how I'm feeling at a given moment and decides to switch from the current movie DVD which I'm watching with friends to something from my private collection...
Somebody had to say it, you're just jealous that I beat you to it - phorm
Sex - Find It
That's what I would want.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
Sounds like a great way to reduce the soldiers' stress levels.
Commander: Listen up, men! You will notice in your equipment a new MOOD SENSING ROBOT. In the event that you are under DEADLY ENEMY FIRE it will sense that you have anxiety, that you are SCARED TO DEATH and broadcast this to the whole batallion. If you break one, we will take it out of your paycheck. Now move!
Mood-Sensing Computer? As if my girlfriend isn't enough.
How about that, they can do more then treat cancer patients (when I was diagnosed at 16 with synovial soft tissue sarcoma, Vanderbilt Universtity Medical Center Children's Hospital treated me).
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25 (NKJV)
Just check the browser cache.
Hmmm... your windows box got hacked once, now you want to be drinking/drunk while you format/reinstall? It wasnt secure before when you were sober, imagine what happens when you install when drunk...
The Doormat
If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
People that don't experience anxiety or fear in combat are either (a) too stupid to know better...which means they'll probably be dead soon or (b) are probably clinically insane.
Now, don't get me wrong -- combat is the most intense adrenaline rush that you can possibly experience. It's the real-world version of "fight or flight" over and over and over again. Continuously...for hours and days and weeks. And for some people, that adrenaline rush is enjoyable and addictive. But, as an avowed adrenaline junkie, combat is an adrenaline overdose.
There is a military axiom "Train as you intend to fight". Military training is intended to ingrain patterns of behavior that soldiers will fall back on when their capacity for rational thought has been eroded by the stresses of combat. (I will not digress into a discussion of how that training is mostly centered around "how to kill and survive" rather that "how to comply with the Geneva convention and related accords" -- though that might explain why every army has a history of military atrocities).
A computer assistant -- to be effective in combat -- would have to "learn" its user in situations equivalent to combat. If it didn't, it wouldn't react the same in actual combat. And, I assure you, no training simulation comes close to approaching combat. The combination of "If I make a mistake I will die" and "I am actually killing a person" and "I could randomly die no matter what the fuck I do" is not something that can be realistically duplicated outside of the experience. I would also like to point out that soldiers do *not* respond well to "things outside of normal training parameters". The general inclination is to "shoot it" or "evade detection while trying to decide if I should shoot it".
So what we have is (a) a computer program that has "learned" its user in situations less than combat (b) a soldier that has "learned" preset responses to external stimuli -- including the computer. If you throw the soldier+computer into combat, the computer doesn't know how to react anymore -- not correctly anyway -- because it's never "learned" about combat. The soldier will tend to listen to the computer because that's what he's been trained to do...but the computer is going to be offering suboptimal advice/help/whatever...because it doesn't "know" about combat.
There's definitely roles for computers on the battlefield. Trying to provide stress-relief is probably not one of them. Certainly it's an interesting idea. And one day, it might be plausible. But, now, it's not too feasible. I think that computing will have to evolve quite a bit more before battlefield assistants that monitor emotional states and provide feedback based on that emotional state are truly a force multiplier.
1. Deploy troops
2. Troops get nervous
3. Computer senses nervous troops
4. ???
5. Victory! Battle is won!
---
I still haven't found the "any" key.
"I can tell from the tone of your voice,
Dave, that you're upset. Why don't you
take a stress pill and get some rest."
We could see it coming.
If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
It looks like you're shitting yourself!
or
It looks like you want to shoot someone! (Probably the robot)...
If it senses you're pissed off, does it keep quiet?
All I really want is a babelfish in my ear.
I don't want a mood-sensing doohickey to get jealous!
No, Beowulf clusters can't imagine in Soviet Russia.
I've already created a program that does this, this one works for war:
#include
int main()
{
cout
int main()
{
cout "I can tell you're horny.";
return 0;
}
Soldier: Aggghh!! They're trying to kill us!
A1: Everything is fine, Dave.
Soldier: Aghhhhhh!
A1: Is there a problem with, they're trying to kill us, Dave?
Soldier: help!
A1: Everything is fine with regards to help, Dave.
Soldier: We must get out of here!
A1: Interesting. Tell me more about we must get out of here, Dave.
soldier: AAAAGGH! My ARM HAS BEEN BLOWN OFF!!!
robot: Your ARM HAS BEEN BLOWN OFF?
soldier: YES!!!
robot: What kind of arm is it??
soldier: OH MY GOD THE PAIN IS UNBEARABLE!
robot: Yippee! Your GOD THE PAIN IS UNBEARABLE?
soldier: WHAT??!!! MY ARM!! MY ARM!!!
robot: Where did you get your ARM?
soldier: IT'S BEEN BLOWN OFF YOU STUPID PIECE OF SH*T!
robot: Is it still BLOWN OFF me STUPID PIECE OF SH*T anymore?
soldier faints from loss of blood
soldier: uhhnnn...
robot: Is the holding of hands a symbolic gesture for humans?
in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
Whenever I read about projects that will alter the way my computer works to better fit what it thinks it needs, I pray that it will never grace my computer. I use my computer as a very, very powerful tool, and, like any good tool, I want it to do exactly what I say, even if it may seem that I am making a mistake. Don't do anything I didn't tell you to do.
The 'mood' sensing properties of a computer system would be the worst kind of unwanted adaptation. It would change the way my computer works according to something I cannot always control fully. I want to be in control of my computer, so to do that, everything my computer does must be based on things in my control.
-twb
C'mon, we all know what the real use of a mood-sensing computer is. Can you say ren'ai? That's dating / romance sim games for you Westerners!
"Look, when I smile at Kimiko-chan, she smiles back..."
'The staff in the hand of a wizard may be more than a prop for age,' -Hamá, the doorward
'master, I see you're in a warmonger-mood again, should we attack another country completely at random and say that they were threatening us ?'
will probably use this mood sensor to detect if the user is pissed so that it simply refuses to show BSODs when that occur...or they'll make it so that when you're happy it shows yellow screens of death that say, "Have a nice day!"
I imagine a couple of white-coated lab workers dressing up some volunteer with probes, then standing back while Igor gets to work inducing anxiety in the subject...
A)bort, R)etry or S)elf-destruct?
Let me get this straight: I'm taking fire, in a trench or something, and I'm supposted to not feel anxiety? What part of a bunch of AK-weilding Afgans screaming at me is supposted to calm me down? Or is the sound of mortars hitting the ground 3 meters from me supposted to be soothing?
Not that this stinks, but this stinks of automated "liquid bravery/no-doze/morphine" delivery. It seems almost tailor-made to be part of an automated battlefield drug delivery system. It could fit into a small beltpack containing a pda sized circuit board, a few vials of specific drugs and a small motorized needle.
:) ?
-If a soldier, whom the pc knows is "on watch" starts to show signs of fatigue, the device automically injects some caffeine or even ephedra.
-If a soldier gets an arm blown off in a trench far from a medic, the device could automatically inject morphine, or even a heavy coagulant to help his wound stop bleeding.
Wonder which branch of the military Vanderbilt has been receiving its recent grants from
It'd be interesting to see if this thing acted in the interest of the individual soldier or the military unit.
INFANTRY NODE #1
It appears my human is overcome with
anxiety
MAINFRAME
Okay, this is always a shame to have to
do, but in the interest of the platoon
pull the pin
INFANTRY NODE #1
Grenade pin pulled. Self destruct
sequence initiated.
INFANTRY NODE #2
It appears my human is becoming "aroused"
MAINFRAME:
Neutralize horniness.
INFANTRY NODE #2
Intravenous bromide release initiated.
can someone pull the Heart of Gold sort of mother themed robot quote?
Clippy: It looks like you are bleeding to death. Would you like some help?
13 year old white supremacists are shitty web designers.
nice microsoft add on the link. maybe ill buy M$ shit now.
"It looks like you're feeling frisky. Shall it be porn or a game today?"
He has a really good .sig which says... er, oh crap!
.sig dude.
And it's at a 4 already too, never mind then.
Anyways, I like your
This is an absolutely horrible invention...Just think, before women only "thought" men were near emotionless pigs...Now they will have diffinitive proof...
The one benfit is that, the machine that processes the information could probably be something like a Commador 64, since we tend to have so few emotional states...
Shameless self promotion : The Misadvetures of the in
Who wants to bet they put the interface on a...RING!
HAHAHA *snort*.
oh jeez, i kill me sometimes, whoo!
I notice that you are feeling stressed Dave.
... but only if it can tell me when my wife wants to have sex!
main(){char I,l,O[]={'-',1-1,0,(1<<5)-1,0+'-',-10-1,-10,11-0,
He's clearly an asshole-licking faggot
but all microsoft has come up with so far is the mod-sensing computer (that disables itself if you change the bits inside).
I have a theory that computers are much more likely to play up when the user is stressed.
The new generation VCD player should have a mood sensor connected to the fast-forward button.
Finally, a portable that automatically switches to prostitute mode whenever necessary.
The onion already had a story like this, here. This once again proves that the onion is america's finest news source.
"I have a porkchop, you have a porkchop. I have a veal, you have a veal".
I've detected that Microsoft Word has crashed, resulting in the loss of an estimated 4.5 hours of work. Would you like me to launch Counter-Strike?
I've noticed that the development of the sort of robots that we've seen in movies and TV shows is being done in piece-meal by lots of different groups. There's this group, a group working on facial expressions, several groups working on creating a functional and reliable biped model, some other groups working on conversational skills, several companies working on voice recognition, a few working on face recognition, etc. When all of this is put together and we have a fully functional robot, maybe not akin to Data but certainly something similar to the robots in Bubblegum Crisis 2040 (basically sentient construction workers) or Rockman/Megaman (robots that are clearly robots, but with a human shape and face), how many patents will it violate? 20? 40? 80? 150?
I see the need for these specific aspects of humanoid or human-like robots to be concentrated on by dedicated groups with dedicated funding, rather than the entire thing being approached as a single project, but are we ever going to get an actual robot this way? Will these people ever be able to create the sort of functional and useful robot that they envision when they have to not only complete this specific project, but then build the entire rest of the robot themselves, using only their own research and development capabilities?
And before someone mentions that a "robot" isn't necessarily something similar to a human being, please note that this project specifically requires something that can aid a human being emotionally and thus be able to be accepted by a human being as something other than a soulless machine, necessitating that it be something more human-like than a laptop with wheels and a speaker.
Draft registration is important for a couple of reasons
- It keeps the public in the habit of obeying orders.
- If they want to have a big war in a hurry, and the public doesn't want to participate, it's much faster to draft people if you already know where they live.
- If you've don't do mandatory registration in peacetime, lots of people won't obey or register when you announce that you're having a war, and tracking them down is a slow process - it's much easier to do in peacetime when you're not in a hurry.
- It's easier to get people to comply when the risk of registration looks low - "having your name in yet another government database" is easier to put up with that "getting sent to VietNam.".
The reason the US has draft registration today is that Bill Clinton, having been a successful draft dodger and a hypocritical President, didn't want to take the political heat that the Republicans would have given him if he had approved the small amount of funding for closing down Selective Service when it came up for renewal during his term. If he'd had the guts to serve his country by saying "Peacetime Draft Registration is Un-American, let's kill it", we'd be better off. If I remember correctly, the peacetime draft registration was the fault of Jimmy Carter, but it might have been Ford or Reagan.My Draft Lottery Number was something over 300, in the last lottery, and I was classified "1-H", which is a holding category that means that the Army didn't want to bother paying to give me a physical. I lost my draft card some time before I turned 26....
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
"Wouldn't you really rather go to the basement, RIGHT NOW, than up to the 15th floor? Thank you for making a humble elevator so very, very happy...."
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Can someone back this up with a news link? I can't find any reference to it anywhere.
Thanks.
For immediate use when I see the next story about "smart" war technology.
What dumb idea. Heck maybe a blood pressure gauge would be better - e.g. if I'm losing lots of blood, some drugs might help.
If I were a soldier I'd prefer fancy gizmos that'll help me drastically alter the _enemy's_ mood.
Passive battle gizmos I'd want (not weapons):
1) high res ultrawideband radar
2) passive IR/thermal + NV sensors (UV sensors might be good too - if it's possible to detect off-shelf detergent in battle camouflage)
3) image/sound processing/recognition/location (help spot gun muzzles, detect location of sniper shots - e.g. crack-thump etc)
4) ultrawideband coms - your teammates can "see" what you see, and can help triangulate unknown shots using their sensors.
5) If you want something REALLY fancy, how about
some system that can create a useful artificial metabolic pathway.
e.g find a way to rapidly generate ATP for your muscles from alternative energy sources (e.g. petrol/diesel).
Sprint till you run out of fuel. 300ml of petrol = approx 10 megajoules. Assuming sprinting = 1KW. Make that 5KW, assuming horrible conversion inefficiencies and overheads ( power used for artificial cooling, breaking down lactic acid, etc). You could still theoretically sprint for 2000 seconds or till something breaks or you get taken down (whichever comes first).
Heck even being able to max sprint for only 5 minutes can be very useful tactically.
As for nonhuman intelligence, give me a war dog anytime. Highly recommended.
would you like some toast?
learn from yesterday, plan for tomorrow, party tonight
or one out of three ain't bad
It looks like you are being shot at.
Would you like help?
* Return fire
* Run away
* Sit in corner crapping your fatigues and wondering why it's not more like 'America's Army'
I wonder how many times the soldiers will have do download device drivers in the middle of combat before the military decides to scrap the project.
The drivers for Unknown Device "Human Arm" are not certified. Would you like to proceed?
[Medicate] [Do not medicate]
Page fault, "Occipital_Lobe.dll". This program will now exit.
"I sense that you are tired, frightened, chilly, and quickly growing blind, Master. Would you like a mug of hot chocolate?"
Windows has detected that your mood has changed, press OK to reboot.
Am I the only one that thinks it would be better to build a robot that does the fighting, and the soldier worries about the robot? It would seem a lot safer, since humans are 'supposed' to be more emotional than robots.
Since, in theory, the robot would never get anxious (even when half of it is blown away), it would make the soldiers job pretty easy.
Soldier - 'Sir, my robot got anxious and was blown to bits'.
Sergeant - 'Good work son, I'm sure your support helped - here's another robot for you to empathize with'
It'll be really good when I start to get pissed off at the computer and it then decides to work fine withouth any further questions because it saw me waving a 15Kg iron mallet
For use on the battlefield -- e.g. when a soldier is overcome with anxiety."
Aha..
Here's a military application: a med-pack that for you.
...scared enough of that MS clip while not in a battle.
Joe is a fighter pilot. On those long stretches, a little speed is what hits the sweet spot.
/Dread
Engine on fire? No need to worry, he will die a brave and happy death.
This ad sponsored by fly-x, your happy dopamine source.
peace
It would be interesting if this same technology was applied to picking which mp3s the computer might play for us based on what seemed to make us feel better the last time we felt this way. Or imagine turning the internet into a sort of concerned television that could display whatever information made other people feel better when they showed the same characteristics of mood that you might be displaying.
My mood is fuck you with a tinge of get the fuck out of my house.
[computer]: I see you are browsing RealDoll's website again. I sense you are horny. Would you like me to open a frame with low interest loan vendors listed so you can afford a RealDoll?
[computer]: Ah. now you're looking at goatse.cx again. I sense you're feeling experimental. Would you a new window open with a list of local transgendered dominatrixs?
[computer]: uh.. I see you're looking at buying a new computer. I sense you are fed up..
Trolling is a art,
An adaptive computer interface which dynamically changes based on fear-level may be useful.
Special situations call for special tools. Even in Star Trek (TOG) they have tactical display modes when the ship enters combat.
A heads-up display may typically consume a good portion of the soldiers cognitive and visual capability, displaying squads current location, patrol path, intelligence updates, and other information simultaneously. When the shit hits the fan, the display could automatically change to a reduced information mode with Friendly vs Foe overlays, air support options, etc.
As the solider becomes more engaged in reality, the cognitive load could be minimized and the heads up display optimized to survivial in close combat situations.
Of course, I'm pulling these examples out of my but. Not being a soldier, I can only imagine what heads-up utility would be useful in combat, but keep in mind that most first-person shooters have peripheral displays containing foe-friend radar, weapon magazine loads, and other combat-helpful data.
Of course, a simple tactical mode button would work just as well...
"You have liberated me from thought."
Expect this robot to be on Thinkgeek soon
clippy: I sense you need to relax a bit, do you wish me to give a "personal massage"?
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
1) Mood pc starts flashing bright red. ...
2)
3) Game over man!
4) ???
5) PROFIT!!!
bye bye karma.
When I was still in the Navy, I got sent to a class on military modeling and simulation. The guy teaching the class was an Army vet who told the story of an Army command in Alaska. This outfit was in trouble because, funny as it seems, they were losing proficiency in digging foxholes (there's more to it than just digging a hole, apparently). There were some kind of environmental restrictions on digging in their area (I think it would have screwed up the permafrost? can't remember), so they needed some substitute.
Somebody came up with the brilliant idea of building a virtual reality foxhole digging system, which was going to have force-feedback shovels, etc, etc... they were well on their way to expending vast quantities of money on this thing when somebody said, "Hey! Why don't we just ship some dirt up here?" The project was quietly dropped.
So while it's usually true that the gov't will buy anything if it's cool enough, in this case, reason prevailed.
Sean
Some people are more Mercurial than others.
I wonder what it would make of some kids I know either on Prozac and/or on a SugarPops buzz?
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
Joe makes PowerPoint slides for people and gets them just right. However the General is in town and will probably want a "readiness inspection" so now Joe is rather worried that his clip art and all the correct DD-Form 1234.56 - 9950.24b are in their proper place. Joe can now fire up his "Mood-Maker" (tm) and feel like a civilian... well a civilian meaning someone who doesn't wear a uniform and use formal rank structure.
Although it is interesting how I can be racist against whites in this society and that is overlooked or even justified as "being the voice of the oppressed" yet if some redneck drives by with a southern cross he is labled as a bigot and treated like a worm.
Then the robot can slap the soldier around and call him a coward. (just watched Patton, if you were wondering.(and even if you weren't...))
Not that this stinks, but this stinks of automated "liquid bravery/no-doze/morphine" delivery. It seems almost tailor-made to be part of an automated battlefield drug delivery system. It could fit into a small beltpack containing a pda sized circuit board, a few vials of specific drugs and a small motorized needle.
:) ?
Like the Stimpack ability in Starcraft. "Eeeyaaaagh!"
Wonder which branch of the military Vanderbilt has been receiving its recent grants from
The Space Marines, of course.
Well, hey, I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons and not learn a little something about courage.
Why on earth would the military need a robotic assistant on the battlefield? Especially one who responds to the moods of the 'master'?
"I am sorry sir, I can't allow you to arm that grenade due to the anger you hold from your recent divorce..."
I think they should reveal the real reason for the research instead of using the military in order to gain funding from some grant or federal cash flow.
--wal
Does this technology remind anyone else of Star Trek?
This system simply collects data, its the analysis that ties into emotional cues such as anxiety, fear, 'I wanna peanut butter and jelly sandwich', etc.
The technology seems like a few steps up from monitoring a heartbeat, body temperature, etc. which I think is already under development by the military which has great, practical use in a combat theater.
It's unfortunate that the focus on this article only deals with the military. Mental health professionals could use this to coach patients to improve their self-awareness stressful situations. Understanding the problem is the first step.
I picture a dialog like this:
'How did my body react when I saw my dad?'
'Your response indicates anxiety...'
"I can see you're anxious, is there anything I can do to help?"
reminds me of another useless/unwanted elevator feature from the Hitchiker's guide to the universe.
"Pardon me for intruding, but I sense that you are a little ancious. Are you sure that you want to shoot that friendly man over there with the gaily coloured rocket launcher?"
I read this story and thought of how Bender would perform this task.
SetGO - How Pornography Promotes Technological Innovation5 9b90e1005a22 0e2ebc542eb9d950b1e
http://www.setgo.com/article.html?id=
I wonder how porn will help this technological innovation
As with the case in Oregon, a costly, unweildly, unfeasible solution is usually a sign of a lack of common sense. Fortunately, there are some lawmakers and leaders who have common sense, but not enough.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
Computers sensing and responding to our moods?
Hell, they already do that.
Work five hours late, on a document due the next morning, stressed up to the eyeballs... what does your computer do in this situation? Every time?
BSOD.
Ok, say a guy is in the midst of a furious, raging battle, and this highly expensive gadget senses that his breathing, heart rate and bp are all elevated (duh). It says, "You seem stressed, is there anything I can do?" The guy says, "I want my mommy," or whatever you would normally say in this situation. So what does the thing do? Radio for help? Project a hologram of Marina Sirtis? Seems like the situation would call for something simpler, like a lapel-mounted PANIC button that lights up a blip on somebody's battle board. I'm sorry, but I go along with the guy who said the last thing he would want in battle is a girlfriend asking how he was feeling.
I could see a lot of people buying that... Just look at the number of products sold only on their cuteness factor.
I took a class from the prof who's researching this! It's all signal analysis and designing a control system to respond right? Now can I have an A in that System Dynamics course?
Congrats to Sarkar and the grad students toiling away in one of the weirdest buildings known to man: Vanderbilt's Olin Hall.
I remember he did ask us at the beginning of the course if any of us wanted to work on this project. He said they were going to be using some SBCs (Single Board Computers) not sure if they were PC104 or what.
Vanderbilt MEs... We RULE.
Sgt. Bot: Private! My sensors tell me you just crapped all inside your BDU trousers! Your CO just ordered you to move forward and take that machine gun emplacement! So get moving you worthless pile of camel spit!! What kind of tea party playing, prissyboy, pantywaste are you anyway?! You want to stay here in this foxhole and play grabass with Private Wexler, don't ya?! I'll bet you didn't think I could tell every time your tiny little pencil dick gets hard! Did ya?! Now pick up that weapon and get your goat smellin' ass a' low crawling across that field, you low life maggot!!!
Can they make one that will retract into the desk if it detects that its user is really, really pissed off? This could save on some equipment repair costs at my company.
It's good to use your head, but not as a battering ram.
What would really be useful is a version of Windows that can detect when you're REALLY not in the mood for any of its shit.
- Stormcaller
http://www.stormcaller.net
yeah...
1. go here.
2. Scroll to the bottom and hit next.
3. Repeat.
THERE IS NO DATA. THERE IS O
BOFH excuse #361:
Communist revolutionaries taking over the server room and demanding all the computers in the building or they shoot the sysadmin. Poor misguided fools.
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