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Robot Interprets, Plays Back Dreams

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the ceiling-robot-is-watching-you-dream dept.

foobarx writes "Digital artists have created a humanoid robot which uses brainwave activity recorded during sleep to playback an interpretation of your dreams. The artists, Brendan Burns and Fernando Orellana used machine learning to find patterns in the brainwaves and then matched these patterns to dreams which they remembered having. Others have noted the possible hazards of this new technology."

142 comments

  1. Just Imagine.... by ZonkerWilliam · · Score: 3, Funny

    This could be embarrassing if it reenacts my wet dreams of Eva Longoria...Ummm my wife I mean, ya my wife!

    1. Re:Just Imagine.... by garett_spencley · · Score: 4, Funny

      I have wet dreams about your wife. Does that count ?

      Just trying to help get you out of trouble.

    2. Re:Just Imagine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Her seeing your dreams would be embarrassing, but you'll feel even more embarrassed (and inadequate) when you see her dreams.

    3. Re:Just Imagine.... by hal2814 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Reminds me of a joke:

      A man and his wife just married and were going into their new home. The man was carrying his wife over the threshold and said to her, "Honey, did you ever in your wildest dreams think I'd be carrying you over the threshold into a big new beautiful home?"

      The wife responded, "I hate to break this to you, but you're not in my wildest dreams."

    4. Re:Just Imagine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your wife is Eva Longoria? Hi Tony Parker! Can you tell me why the Spurs suck?

    5. Re:Just Imagine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Ahh, the benefits of lucid dreaming.

      1. Stay up really late
      2. Go to bed
      3. Catch yourself going to sleep
      4. Fuck celebrities. Or fly. Or move things with the power of your mind. Or throw a car.
      5. Awesome, just don't do it to often, leaves me worn out the next day.
    6. Re:Just Imagine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cook about $200 worth of hash into butter THEN used for any various baked item...talk about lucid dreaming...

    7. Re:Just Imagine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I do this frequently as well, been doing it for a good few years.
      Although recently (about the last week of December there), something felt different... ever since then, i haven't really went through that "worn out the next day" stage anymore, in fact i feel really good on wakening.
      OH MY GOD DID I BREAK THE MATRIX?!

    8. Re:Just Imagine.... by metamorfoza · · Score: 1

      How do you guys do that? I want a piece of action...as well. when i have (lucid) dreams it involves a enguin with sombrero, a talking hyena split into picies and sortred in associative array, that damn guy with muchine gun that fires tiny trees and sheeps instead of bullets, naked cousin with the picke out of his arse and all that in front of the house where I was born.

    9. Re:Just Imagine.... by alex4u2nv · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I battle dragons, and demons every night. But I always wake up just before I climax w/ the elvish fairy princess =(
      Why is this torment!!!

      One interesting feeling that I would never forget, is dieing in my sleep. It was a weird cold rush starting from my limbs rushing inwards, almost reaching my heart as I woke with a very deep inhale, and felt the exact opposite, as the coldness rushed outwards. I had it twice in one night. Episode one: CSI, I was shot. I was also the detective solving the case. Episode 2: I was in a cage, that dropped to the bottom of the sea. I was also the detective finding the body, and the mortician doing the autopsy.

      Thankfully I stick to fighting dragons!

      When I was in elementary school, I would remember myself having a lot of trouble with my dreams. I would be riding a bike, and I want to get off, but I could never get off the bike. I would want to turn left/right but it wouldn't happen. So every night I would be fighting w/ that same dream, untill one night, was able to get off the bike. Couple weeks later, I learnt to fly!!
      These days, I have more control over my dreams when I'm active, and working out. Probably has something to do with bloodflow, but thats a guess in the dark.

      --
      -Alex. http://bit.ly/1iVPtfA
    10. Re:Just Imagine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      which reminds me of another married joke:

      after being married for a few years, the husband begins insisting that they keep the lights off while having sex. the wife thought this was odd, but she was delightedly surprised that the sex was better with the lights off. a few years and a few kids later, the husband still insists on keeping the lights off. Finally, the wife can't stand it anymore. In the middle of sex, she hurriedly turns the lights on and looks under the covers. To her dismay, she finds her husband holding a dildo.
      Wife: "I can't believe this! You've been deceiving me all these years! Would you care to explain why?"
      Husband: "Only if you care to explain the kids."

    11. Re:Just Imagine.... by tedrlord · · Score: 1

      That's when he "accidentally" banged her head against the doorframe. Sounds like the start of a beautiful marriage.

      --
      [insert witty quote here]
    12. Re:Just Imagine.... by Cruise_WD · · Score: 1

      I die quite often in my dreams.

      I just restart the level.

      Seriously - I know that sounds like a joke, and it is a humourous comment on my lifestyle for sure, but it is true. Everything goes black, and I find myself back at an earlier point in the dream, whereupon I do something different to avoid dying.

      --
      [ cruise / casual-tempest.net / xenogamous.com / transference.org / quantam sufficit ]
    13. Re:Just Imagine.... by Cruise_WD · · Score: 1

      Both my wife and I talk in our sleep - quite coherently, in fact. On a number of occasions I have persuaded my wife's subconcious to give me a running commentary of her dreams. I've even been able to ask questions about what's going on, and offer suggestions.

      So fascinating as this robot is, it's rather redundant for me.

      --
      [ cruise / casual-tempest.net / xenogamous.com / transference.org / quantam sufficit ]
  2. You mean . . . .? by arizwebfoot · · Score: 2

    Others have noted the possible hazards of this new technology.

    Ya mean, like mind control?
    --
    Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
    1. Re:You mean . . . .? by KublaiKhan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      How exactly would you propose to turn a machine that acts out measured impulses into a mind control device?

      It's nothing more than a sophisticated puppet; is it likely that the puppeteer of a Punch and Judy show will start feeding people to crocodiles and bashing folks over the head with a policeman's truncheon?

      --
      In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
      A stately pleasure dome decree
    2. Re:You mean . . . .? by arizwebfoot · · Score: 1

      I would think there has to be some kind of two way communication:
      a. The robot communicates to the brain in assisting the location of where ever the brain waves are.
      b. The brain then communicates with the robot via the brain waves
      It would like a mind meld.
      However I would not propose to turn the robot into anything but fireplace lighter.

      --
      Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
    3. Re:You mean . . . .? by davetd02 · · Score: 1

      Less mind control, more evidence of past crimes. Imagine if the government got to hook up a dream machine to see if you dreamed about committing that unsolved crime.

      It's an interesting 5th Amendment argument that your dreams would be giving testimony against yourself. Our technology is SO far beyond what the Founding Fathers could ever dream of that we're in uncharted waters.

    4. Re: You mean . . . .? by arizwebfoot · · Score: 4, Funny

      And what if there is music involved?

      Is the RIAA gonna sue you for infringement?

      --
      Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
    5. Re:You mean . . . .? by Haeleth · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's an interesting 5th Amendment argument that your dreams would be giving testimony against yourself. Our technology is SO far beyond what the Founding Fathers could ever dream of that we're in uncharted waters.
      Um, our science fiction might be. Our technology is nowhere close to making it possible to get any detailed information at all out of your dreams. (The robot described in this article merely looks at brain activity and "creatively" translates that into "the kinds of things people do in dreams". It's totally non-specific, and its accuracy is really rather questionable as well.)
    6. Re:You mean . . . .? by KublaiKhan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No two-way communication is occurring.

      The robot--if such a word is even really appropriate--has only read access. There is no input from the device to the brain--there are only sensors reading the electrical and motor impulses. There's no "determination" of where the impulses are--there are merely changes recorded by sensors which the operator places on the head that passively read the electric fields.

      The device does not in any way, shape, or form 'write' to the brain at all.

      This is nowhere near a 'mind meld'--if anything, it's like a video camera that records electrical activity rather than visual spectrum activity.

      No Matrix bots for you. Sorry. You'll have to wait a while before you can meet Agent Smith.

      --
      In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
      A stately pleasure dome decree
    7. Re:You mean . . . .? by spun · · Score: 1

      No, the device does not communicate with the brain. The device simply measures brain waves, it does not need to find them. They are in the brain. I know, that is hard to find in some people...

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    8. Re:You mean . . . .? by STrinity · · Score: 4, Funny

      Worse than that:

      FRY: So you're telling me they broadcast commercials into people's dreams?

      LEELA: Of course.

      FRY: But, how is that possible?

      PROFESSOR FARNSWORTH: It's very simple. The ad gets into your brain just like this liquid gets into this egg.

              [He shows an egg and injects it with liquid from a syringe until the egg explodes.]

      PROFESSOR FARNSWORTH: Although, in reality, it's not liquid, but gamma radiation.

      LEELA: Didn't you have ads in the twentieth century?

      FRY: Well, sure, but not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio... and in magazines... and movies, and at ballgames, and on buses, and milk cartons, and T-shirts, and bananas, and written in the sky. But not in dreams, no sirree.

      --
      Les Miserables Volume 1 now up with my reading of
    9. Re:You mean . . . .? by Planesdragon · · Score: 1

      It's an interesting 5th Amendment argument that your dreams would be giving testimony against yourself. Not really an argument. You have the 5th amendment right to prevent the government from compelling anything from you, be it speech or DNA or, in some rare instances, fingerprints. You just need to know to stand up for that right.

      Don't want to tell the police officer you were speeding? Just don't answer. ("Do you know how fast you were going?" "yes")

      Don't want to take that breathalyzer? Forfeit your license and you're fine.

      Don't want to sign that statement the police put in front of you? Don't. (Just be prepared to have them prosectute you.)
    10. Re:You mean . . . .? by davetd02 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Except none of that is true. It'd be nice for defendants if it were, but the privilege against self-incrimination does not apply to physical evidence. The Supreme Court has never held there to be a self-incrimination right against giving PHYSICAL evidence -- just to forced TESTIMONY (getting up on the stand and actually describing what happened).

      The 5th Amendment does NOT stop the police from forcing you to participate in a lineup.

      The 5th Amendment does NOT stop the police from requesting a handwriting sample or a fingerprint.

      The 5th Amendment does NOT stop the police from requesting a voice sample.

      See, eg here ("It is long settled law that fingerprinting does not violate the Fifth Amendment's guarantee against compelled self-incrimination or the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures. Indeed, much non-testimonial evidence does not fall under those constitutional protections, including the analysis of blood and breath for alcohol. Samples of semen, hair, and other tissues may be taken without a suspect's consent.").

      See also Schember v. California, where the Supreme Court reiterated that the 5th Amendment protects against compelled testimony primarily in the spoken word sense. Blood tests weren't compelled "testimony," even if they were "compelled" in the sense that they were forcible, over protests.

      We can write laws that prohibit forced fingerprints, or forced handwriting samples -- call your Congressperson and tell them to do so if that's what you believe. But there's no right in the Constitution about that.

    11. Re:You mean . . . .? by somersault · · Score: 5, Funny

      How exactly would you propose to turn a machine that acts out measured impulses into a mind control device?

      Put the batteries in the other way round.. I mean duh, it isn't exactly brain surgery.
      --
      which is totally what she said
    12. Re:You mean . . . .? by somersault · · Score: 1

      "Samples of semen, hair, and other tissues may be taken without a suspect's consent."

      Wow. I'm not going to visit America unless they make the police force all female - and preferably all prom queens, or runners up.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    13. Re:You mean . . . .? by provigilman · · Score: 1
      The ability to "read your dreams" would likely fall under the 5th ammendment though. The reason that physical evidence is not covered is that it's not really testimony. You're not being asked to cause yourself to present evidence against yourself.

      In the case of dreams though they're created by your own subconscious mind, so they would be, in effect, a form of testimony against yourself. They're essentially asking your subconscious mind what you're thinking about.

      --
      "Life's short and hard, like a body building elf." -- The Bloodhound Gang
    14. Re:You mean . . . .? by m.ducharme · · Score: 1

      Personally, I don't see how reading your dreams, even if you could read the dreams accurately, could incriminate you. Dreams are primarily fiction, even when they pull details from your real life. How can a police officer, or judge, or jury, distinguish between the dreams of actual memories, and the ones that are merely random neuron firings or wish-fulfilment fantasies?

      --
      Rule of Slashdot #0: You and people like you are not representative of the larger population. - A.C.
    15. Re:You mean . . . .? by RobDude · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's common place for police to leave out key details about a crime or murder scene when annoucining the story to the public. Then, when they get 5,000 calls from people claiming to know what happened; they can use that missing information as a test to weed-out the fakers.

      If there were an unsolved crime and one piece of information was missing from the report; and you dream of the crime - WITH - that information in it; then, in theory, that would point a finger at you.

      The weight of that finger would depend heavily on the accuracy and legality of the machines that read your dreams.

      Having said all of that - this robot is not at all a dream reading machine. It measures electrical activity in the brain and was 'programmed' based on dreams that designers could remember.

      It sounds cool, but it's just a novelty. It doesn't know what you are dreaming at all.

    16. Re:You mean . . . .? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think this website might disagree with you...

    17. Re:You mean . . . .? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would consider the false positive rate too high to allow such evidence to be admissible in court. I've had plenty of dreams where I'm running from the law or something (sometimes I'm the victim running away from a criminal too) and I've never committed any of the crimes I'm dreaming up.

    18. Re:You mean . . . .? by harry666t · · Score: 1

      What makes you so sure that this device won't have any effect on one's brain?

      I mean, it's already known that your thoughts can shape the water crystals.

    19. Re:You mean . . . .? by Cassius+Corodes · · Score: 1

      Wtf? Why would the robot ask the brain where the brain waves are? Its like ringing up a radio station to ask where their radio waves are!

      --
      Control is an illusion, order our comforting lie. From chaos, through chaos, into chaos we fly
    20. Re:You mean . . . .? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sudo chmod -R 777 /dev/brain

    21. Re:You mean . . . .? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, of course. How silly of me to consider eyes and ears to be input devices!!

    22. Re:You mean . . . .? by ggvaidya · · Score: 1

      Others have noted the possible hazards of this new technology.

      Ya mean, like mind control?

      chmod 444 /dev/brain?
    23. Re: You mean . . . .? by Fission86 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh i'm totally fucked then....

      My dreams usually have the sound track of Prince in the background

      --
      Coming to you live from another dimension.
    24. Re:You mean . . . .? by KublaiKhan · · Score: 1

      It will have exactly the same effect as any other EEG.

      Or, in other words, no measurable effect.

      --
      In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
      A stately pleasure dome decree
    25. Re:You mean . . . .? by harry666t · · Score: 1

      Hm. Isn't it that one cannot be a "perfect observer", because once you start observing a system, you become a part of it?

      But no /measurable/ effect... That might be true as of today.

  3. From the hazards... by snl2587 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sleep Waking Dream Enacting Robot Will Get You Dumped, Fired, Arrested, Punched in the Wiener

    Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll pass on this one...

    1. Re:From the hazards... by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 4, Funny

      "And what were you dreaming?"

      "Uhhh, I was eating a hot dog."

      "Wow! Most of your dreams the last few weeks you sure do love eating hot dogs!"

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    2. Re:From the hazards... by AutopsyReport · · Score: 1

      Wait, this sounds a lot like my wife...

      --

      For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.

    3. Re:From the hazards... by Jarik_Tentsu · · Score: 1

      *shudders* Do you really want to see what kinda weird shit you dream of?

  4. Interesting to me because I know 1 of the artists by tpjunkie · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Fernando Orellana was my professor for a digital art class I took in college. He was way into the computer as a tool for creating artwork, and the fusion of traditional art with the modern and bleeding edge digital techniques. Interestingly, he asked the class one day what each of us would do with an unlimited budget for an art project. No one thought to ask him what he would do but it looks like this is certainly a hint. He's a great guy and has some cool ideas, I'll have to look him up when I'm at school for alumni weekend this year.

  5. Yeah, I know what you mean! by iknownuttin · · Score: 2, Funny

    I watched the robot video and if it were me, that robot would be humping its hips making the energizer bunny look like a slackard!

    --
    I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
  6. Paging Dr. Haber... by EricTheGreen · · Score: 1

    How long until an Augmentor appears?

    1. Re:Paging Dr. Haber... by RLiegh · · Score: 1

      I, for one, welcome our new gray skin overlords...

    2. Re:Paging Dr. Haber... by EricTheGreen · · Score: 1

      I, for one, welcome our new gray skin overlords...
      ...with a little help from your friends, right?
  7. Raises the question.. by wellingtonsteve · · Score: 4, Interesting

    of whether you are responsible for what your robot does while re-enacting your dreams...

    1. Re:Raises the question.. by wizardforce · · Score: 1

      "Digital artists have created a humanoid robot which uses brainwave activity recorded during sleep to playback an interpretation of your dreams.
      I don't think they'd actually allow the robot a chance to do anything illegal or otherwise harmful. but if they for whatever reason allowed this and the robot did do something illegal [strangled your boss for example] what evidence could be brought forward that you did or did not intend for it to happen, after all it was in your dreams or was it? what if the robot is incorrect? how would you prove otherwise? granted we're no where near needing to test any of these and they likely wouldn't be stupid enough to give the robot the ability to break any laws but it brings up questions.
      --
      Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
    2. Re:Raises the question.. by ILuvRamen · · Score: 1

      you know it's possible with certain devices already invented years ago or just some seriously hardcore mental training, you can remember and control all your dreams. I tried it and I did alright with it but I kept screwing up and waking up at like 2:00 AM and it pissed me off so I stopped. Plus my dreams are screwed up! But for the other 99.9999% of people, I'm gonna guess no. Unless you purposely hook up a robot to yourself before going to sleep and you dream about attacking someone and the robot attacks someone. Then you're in trouble.
      Oh and btw the last dream I had, I kid you not, was about a team of people from my college vs dinosaurs in a shipping spree at the dollar store for charity donations to another country all for a TV show. We won by the way and shipped some nice stuff to wherever. I'd hate to see the robot act that one out. I dunno if he has a ram dinosaur's cart into shelf subroutine.

      --
      Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
    3. Re:Raises the question.. by fastest+fascist · · Score: 1

      The phenomenon you're talking about is called "lucid dreaming". The methods to train oneself to do it seem to center around habituating oneself to questioning one's state of consciousness and doing reality checks, such as reading a piece of text twice to see if it stays the same. Apparently after enough repetition you'll start doing this in your dreams, too, and when the results don't add up, you'll realize you're dreaming.Or so they say.

      I've had a few lucid dreams myself, but never consciously. I find the experience isn't all that great, I'm a bit too aware that nothing I do matters. Also I lose some of the immersion, and become somewhat detached from the dream. It's an odd sensation, actually. I recall once realizing I'm dreaming, and starting to feel the dream slip away. Or more literally, I started to feel myself falling through the floor, and started hopping back up to stay in the dream. Then I had this insight that I need to speak with someone to keep the dream world going, and that did work for a while.

      Then again, another time I found a dream I was having so cliché and banal that I said something like "OK, that's it, I'm done with this." and forced my eyes open to wake myself up. Now THAT feels odd, opening your eyes when they're already open, in the dream.

    4. Re:Raises the question.. by insertwackynamehere · · Score: 1

      something tells me a hairless furby with basic dream interpretation ability isn't going to be getting too many people in legal trouble anytime soon.

    5. Re:Raises the question.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've been doing the lucid dreaming stuff for about 3 years now, gotten very good at doing it the past year (including last year of course)

      In fact, recently i have become so good at it that i am physically aware of being falling, and being asleep, i can mostly force myself into it (depending on my mood at the time), then back out of it, almost like a robot turning off its sensors and working internally with an artificial dataset.
      Its a very strange sensation "feeling" your senses "going off" and being "replaced" by your thoughts...

      Another good method for training to lucid dream is the "Water in cup" method, or basically, you fill a cup with water at night, get yourself a little dry mouthed/thirsty, then close your eyes and imagine (as vividly as you can) getting up to take a drink.
      This was the method i used.

    6. Re:Raises the question.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
      gotten very good at doing it the past year (including last year of course)

      What? You might want to work on "lucid wakefulness" for a while.

    7. Re:Raises the question.. by Cruise_WD · · Score: 1

      I have the exact same problem - the moment I realise I'm in a dream, I wake up. I can't seem to stay asleep when I know I'm asleep.

      Interestingly, I can wake myself up from nightmares in a similar fashion - if the dream starts becoming to disturbing, my brain seems to just go, "Uhuh, this ain't happening!" and I pull myself out of the dream. It really does feel like being pulled, too - like I was immersed in molasses and I'm pulling myself up and out of them. Without the stickiness of course...(and since we're now on that subject, the downside to this ability appears to be that pleasure has the same effect - I haven't 'finished' a dream for years). Thank goodness for reality...

      --
      [ cruise / casual-tempest.net / xenogamous.com / transference.org / quantam sufficit ]
    8. Re:Raises the question.. by Torvaun · · Score: 1

      He's making sure that you understand that 'the past year' doesn't just include 2008, but also 2007.

      --
      I see your informative link, and raise you a pithy comment.
    9. Re:Raises the question.. by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 1
      He's making sure that you understand that 'the past year' doesn't just include 2008, but also 2007.

      To me, when somebody says "in the past year I've been doing X" I take it to mean from now, now the previous calendar year. But I see your point. (including what you said, of course.)

  8. Dreams are partly crisis exercises by A+beautiful+mind · · Score: 1

    ...at least according to an earlier slashdot article. In a lot of dreams you're simply dealing with uncomfortable situations. It seems like a pretty useless thing to interpret dreams. They are only relevant to the given person anyway and totally useless for a third party, because no conclusions should be drawn on them.

    --
    It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
    Be yourself no matter what they say
    1. Re:Dreams are partly crisis exercises by garett_spencley · · Score: 5, Funny

      I completely disagree. Dream interpretation has many uses for people other than the one having the dream.

      For example, they can be an excellent reason to make fun of your friends.

  9. A speculation machine? by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 4, Interesting
    From TFA (emphasis mine):

    Periods of high activity (REM) where associated with dynamic behaviors (flying, scared, etc.) and low activity with more subtle ones (gesturing, looking around, etc.). The "behaviors" the robot demonstrates are some of the actions I might do (along with everyone else) in a dream.

    "Might" do? So, if I'm experiencing high-activity REM, I might be flying...or I might be scared? There's a big difference between those two activities (well, alt least there is for me).

    It sounds like Fernando Orellana and Brendan Burns have created a robot whose function is to speculate wildly on what someone might have been dreaming.

    Big deal. I can do that right now, and I can do it for free.
    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:A speculation machine? by ShatteredArm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It seems more like it's a meaningless representation of brain waves (or whatever) using physical actions of a robot. Until they think of a way to make the robot actually do what I'm dreaming about doing, it's not any kind of interpretation at all. It seems kinda like making a robot that interprets FM waves by dancing a little bit faster when the frequency is higher.

    2. Re:A speculation machine? by redlaceparasol · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Forget that. If you've read the latest research on dreaming, this robot can't even tell if you are dream or not, as sometimes during REM people aren't even dreaming. This is about as wildly, ridiculously inaccurate as possible.

    3. Re:A speculation machine? by syrinx · · Score: 1

      So, if I'm experiencing high-activity REM

      REM hasn't been especially high-activity since New Adventures in Hi-Fi.
      --
      Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
    4. Re:A speculation machine? by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 1

      He might be on to something. Those toys that dance by volume seem to be one of the more popular, and annoying, things in the gifting world.

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
  10. But honey... by helpfulcorn · · Score: 5, Funny

    I swear to god, I don't think your sister is more beautiful, it was just a dream.

  11. Dumped, Fired, Arrest, or punched in the Weiner? by readgs · · Score: 1

    Dumped, Fired, Arrest, or punched in the Weiner? No good at all. FAIL! http://wwwfail.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcache.gizmodo.com%2Fassets%2Fresources%2F2008%2F02%2FSleep%2520Waking%2520GI.jpg

  12. Doesn't so much interpret dreams... by bkaul · · Score: 4, Informative

    ... it moves its head based on eye movements, and dances around based on EEG data. There's no actual interpretation of the content of the dream, other than that more active EEG and REM periods correspond to more activity from the robot. It wouldn't know if you were dreaming about flying, or about Eva Longoria, or about going for a jog.

  13. Of course! by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1
    It is fine to have dreams/feelings of anger/lust etc. It is not always fine to act on them (assault/murder/rape etc)..

    Just using a machine to carry out your dirty work does not let you off the hook.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  14. minority report? by the4thdimension · · Score: 1

    Kinda sounds like minority report... maybe we need to get tom cruise on the scene for this.

    --
    Crackin' Wise - Blogging about whatever we want
    1. Re:minority report? by gnick · · Score: 1

      Actually, I was wondering if we could hook it up to another robot and finally answer the question, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
  15. If I dream in Code by AuntieWillow · · Score: 5, Funny

    can the robot do my work for me?

    1. Re:If I dream in Code by calebt3 · · Score: 1

      Hack the robot in your sleep!

    2. Re:If I dream in Code by Trogre · · Score: 1

      Yes, but eventually it won't even see the code. All it will see is blonde, brunette, woman in red dress...

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  16. Philp K. Dick wants to know.... by SethJohnson · · Score: 2, Interesting



    Yeah, robots reading human dreams, but whoop. Wake me up when we can read robot dreams. When we find out if they dream of electric sheep, then you'll have something.

    Seth

    --
    $5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
  17. Obligatory pbf by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

    The Dreamcatcher3000

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
    1. Re:Obligatory pbf by Wandering+Wombat · · Score: 0, Troll

      Everytime I see or hear Dreamcatcher, I just keep thinking of that awful movie, "Attack Of The Assweasels", based on the Stephen King book of the same name. *shudder*

      --
      I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
  18. Oblig: by ArcherB · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bender: [murmuring in his sleep] Kill all humans, kill all humans, must kill all...
    Fry: Bender, wake up!
    Bender: I was having the most wonderful dream. I think you were in it.

    --
    There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
    1. Re:Oblig: by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      Bender: Heeeey Baby... wanna kill all humans?

    2. Re:Oblig: by Dirtside · · Score: 1

      The whole thing:

      Bender: [murmuring in his sleep] Kill all humans, kill all humans, must kill all...
      Fry: Bender, wake up!
      Bender: I was having the most wonderful dream. I think you were in it.
      Fry: Uh...listen Bender, uh, where's your bathroom?
      Bender: Bathwhat?
      Fry: Bathroom.
      Bender: What room?
      Fry: Bathroom!
      Bender: What what?
      Fry: Ah, never mind.
      [Bender dozes off immediately]
      Bender: [murmuring in his sleep] Hey, baby... wanna kill all humans?

      --
      "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
  19. Yes, But Will It Allow Me to FINISH the Dream? by aquatone282 · · Score: 1

    I don't know how many times dreams have ended just as they were about to get really good. . .

    --
    What?
  20. The $500 mystic... future /. meme? by zappepcs · · Score: 2, Funny

    A novel idea (I think) to record brainwaves and try to match them against recordings of known dreams.

    We can all think of things that 'might' go wrong, or that could be misused, but aside from that I can see a whole lot of 'my dream robot/interpreter/$500 mystic told me
    - I should not date you anymore
    - rice-a-roni causes cancer
    - my dog/cat saw your children playing doctor/nurses
    - President Bush is a reptile

    Yes, I can forsee some crazy shit coming out of this technology

    --
    Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
  21. I'm reminded of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader by greenguy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The ship is sailing merrily along, when the sailors rescue a man floating on a piece of driftwood. He tells them he's fleeing an island where dreams come true. The sailors want to set a course for this island immediately. "Not daydreams," he tells them, "real dreams!"

    The sailors quickly decide they don't want to go there after all.

    --
    What if I do the same thing, and I do get different results?
    1. Re:I'm reminded of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader by meringuoid · · Score: 1

      The ship is sailing merrily along, when the sailors rescue a man floating on a piece of driftwood. He tells them he's fleeing an island where dreams come true. The sailors want to set a course for this island immediately. "Not daydreams," he tells them, "real dreams!" The sailors quickly decide they don't want to go there after all.

      And then they end up there anyway. Cue a passage of what is basically Lovecraftian horror in a children's story. Fabulous. Many of the best-loved authors were able to give children nightmares - but recursive nightmares? That is a rare gift.

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  22. Damn that's a tough mod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are you being trollish or insightful? Offsetting mods, no points.

  23. Better headline: by jwietelmann · · Score: 5, Funny

    Robot Observes Dreams, Does Interpretive Dance

  24. Futurama by davidwr · · Score: 1

    Cue the posts about advertising in dreams....

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  25. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I guess this one would if it analyzed the dreams of CmdrTaco!!! :)

    1. Re:Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kiss ass...

  26. Even Better headline: by RingDev · · Score: 1

    Artist makes up dance, makes robot do it while you sleep.

    -Rick

    --
    "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
  27. PK Dick will be pleased by jollyreaper · · Score: 1

    We may not know if androids dream of electric sheep but thanks to this robot, we'll know if you do! Perv.

    --
    Kwisatz Haderach
    Sell the spice to CHOAM
    This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
  28. Oblig. by urcreepyneighbor · · Score: 1

    Get out of my head!

    --
    "The fight for freedom has only just begun." - Geert Wilders
  29. "Playback" an interpretation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    An interpretation of the English language, perhaps?

    Look, darn it: The word "playback" is a noun. You do not "turnoff"
    a computer. You do not "rundown" the street. You do not "pickup"
    a burger... And you do not "playback" a dream interpretation.

    Got it?

  30. Speaking of Wet Dreams . . . by arizwebfoot · · Score: 1

    What kind of dance would the robot be doing for your wet dream?

    Mine? I'm too old, he'd probably keel over with a circuit overload.

    --
    Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
  31. Error in the code by The-Bus · · Score: 1

    Of course, the robot malfunctions if you happen to be dreaming of electric sheep. It can't interpret the signal.

    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  32. Check it out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here is a youtube clip of how a played back dream would appear.

  33. Not Even Close by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Sure, this is not dream enactment proper, but it is as close as we are going to get in the not too distant future."

    As someone who does dream research, I can tell you that this ain't remotely close to dream enactment.

  34. Not completely accurate interpretations by TheLazySci-FiAuthor · · Score: 1

    It interpreted my dreams well enough, but in them my sheep weren't electric.

    --
    Read my Very Short "Stories"
  35. Robot 'plays back' dreams by The+Redster! · · Score: 3, Funny

    In a lesser-published trial, the robot was recorded fishing out a credit card, leaving the lab, and running off to the mall to buy a pair of Lightspeed Briefs.

  36. The extremely big hurdle for this technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    The hurdle for this technology to have any practical meaning is that an interpretation of your dreams based on brainwaves while asleep can never be any better than an interpretation of your thoughts based on brainwaves while you are alive.

    Meaning that this would not be an issue until the day when someone is able to put a hat on your head that shows on a screen exactly what you are thinking of.

    And when that happens we have bigger issues on our hands.

  37. The Dreamcatcher 3000. by redhat421 · · Score: 1

    I hope it's not publicly funded.

    http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF160-The_Dreamcatcher3000.gif

  38. Hazards...? by Luke+Dawson · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sleep Waking Dream Enacting Robot Will Get You Dumped, Fired, Arrested, Punched in the Wiener
    Pfft. Like I need a Robot to help with with that.
  39. Beware... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dream watching can be highly addictive.... Especially if your name happens to be Claire.

  40. Old stuff... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood did this already in Brainstorm (1983). If I remember correctly, it gave her this insatiable urge to go swimming.

  41. The Policeman's Beard Is Half Constructed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More than iron, more than lead, more than gold I need electricity.
    I need it more than I need lamb or pork or lettuce or cucumber.
    I need it for my dreams.

    --Racter

  42. Accessories by Flere+Imsaho · · Score: 1

    They'll have to include a little automatic weapon if they want it to interpret my dreams. And an inflatable sheep. Oh, and a little gimp costume. Don't ask...

    --
    It gripped her hand gently. 'Regret is for humans,' it said.
  43. What? by mac1235 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wife? What is this 'wife' you speak of?

    1. Re:What? by TurboTimmy · · Score: 1

      "W.I.F.E." (Wired Integrated Female Electroencephalograph)

  44. Freud.com by SalesEngineer · · Score: 1

    Sometimes a piston is just a piston

  45. Seems familiar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This reminds me of Clifford D. Simak's Bronco from Cemetery World.

    http://talesfromthedeadlands.blogspot.com/2005/09/cemetery-world.html

  46. "Dream Man" Not A Threat, Says Roboticist by Jesus_666 · · Score: 4, Funny

    World reknowned roboticist Dr. Thomas Light of Light Labs, Inc. has announced today that this dream-reenacting robot, commonly known as "Dream Man", is not a threat to the safety of the free world. "Dream Man", so Light, "is one of [Dr.] Albert [Wily]'s more stupid creations. He fits right in with Plant Man and Charge Man."
    "Reverse engineering Dream Man's weapon is definitely something I look forward to. Albert's stupid ideas never fail to crack me up", added Light.

    Light also announced that he will be sending the autonomous weapon of mass destruction codenamed "Mega Man" to destroy Dream Man along with seven other so called "Robot Masters", which form the latest iteration in the ongoing Light/Wily feud that has been waged since Wily's theft of several robot prototypes from Light Labs in 199X.

    The United Nations Security Council has announced that it fully supports Light, even though like usual it has no idea about what's actually going on or why the world is supposed to be in danger. They do, however, support anyone who stands up to would-be world dominators, especially ones they perceive as zany.

    Meanwhile, Light has drawn considerable criticism over discarding the weapon data from the last encounter with Wily's Robot Masters. During the conflicts, Light reverse-engineers the weapons used by the Robot Masters in order to provide Mega Man with additional firepower. However, as soon as Wily is defeated, the new weapons are summarily discarded in what Light's detractors see as a display of shortsightedness.

    "Seriously", so Japanese Minister of Defense Shigeru Ishiba, "even though Dream Man doesn't look very threatening, he might prove difficult to defeat with just a puny plasma cannon. A few Crash bombs or a burst of Atomic Fire would probably do him in easily, but as Light insists on throwing away perfectly good weapon data Rockman [as the Japanese call Mega Man] is going to have a bit of a fight ahead of him."

    Ishiba added that Japan would be happy to provide cover fire or E-tanks if needed.

    --
    USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  47. Yes, another comic! by popmaker · · Score: 1

    http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF160-The_Dreamcatcher3000.gif

    1. Re:Yes, another comic! by popmaker · · Score: 1

      Ahhh, it's been done! Sorry, was a little too quick there.

  48. New form of Porn? by psychicsword · · Score: 1

    If the put one of these on any male's mind they would get enough money they could easily pay off the machine. and the Obligatory I for one, welcome our new Porn making Dream Machine overlords!

  49. I wonder.. by gremlin484 · · Score: 1

    So what happens if you have a dream about a dream reading robot?

  50. My dream from this morning... by Machtyn · · Score: 1

    Okay, true story. Here's the dream I had this morning.

    I had been called in for an interview for a head football coach at a certain university and was hired. (I'm a software QA engineer by trade... I played football in high school as a freshman... why I would be hired, I have no idea.) Anyway, I decided to take it, because who wouldn't want a chance to try and be a football coach. Well, I was hired because they wanted to give a nobody, an unheard of, a chance to rebuild a pretty depleted team (like 20 guys were left for the entire team.)

    Because I didn't think it would be full time I also interviewed for a tech job in the area and got it. Once I got to the school and started my first day, I realized being a head football coach was going to be full time and dropped the tech job. (Well, DUH! it's going to be a full time job.) After walking around campus, meeting the "team" and some of the other coaches, trying to figure out my essentials to get the job going, I woke up.

    Yeah, I have no idea what it means. The university in question is a public state school in a state I will likely never live in.

    1. Re:My dream from this morning... by Msdose · · Score: 1

      Sounds like you had indigestion, too much on your plate. It's those apple peels before bed. Your brain's neurotransmitters usually monitor and respond to your waking state but, when asleep, they respond to your bodily functions. Your consciousness then interprets their emotional state ( they produce your emotions ) as a corresponding psychological reality of some sort.

  51. I wonder if Jon Kovalic read this story by Anthony · · Score: 1

    Igor starts a new blog "... a raw unfettered glimpse into my psyche and subconcious" Dork Tower #621

    --
    Slashdot: Where nerds gather to pool their ignorance
  52. The Only Robot I Want To Dream About or With by Master+of+Transhuman · · Score: 1

    is Summer Glau! And more Summer Glau! And MORE Summer Glau! And STILL MORE Summer Glau! In UHQ! And EVEN MORE Summer Glau!

    --
    Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
  53. My reading is that... by jd · · Score: 1
    You have a dream and that dream contains some specific sequence of actions and events that is shown up in your brain. Let's call those E. A specific sequence E will trigger some fairly general, abstractish responses in the brain at the level we're concerned with. Let's call those responses X. Then, that abstract X falls into a group of even more abstract concepts, which we traditionally ascribe a single word label in English. These abstract concepts I'll call Y. In each case of X or Y, there will be one stereotypical or archetypal example that can be used to represent in more concrete terms the whole of X or Y respectively. I'll give these stereotypical/archetypal forms the names E' and X' respectively.

    So, for any given action/event E, for which we don't know the specifics, there will be a substitute action/event E' that can be used to replace it. We'll lose all the details and nuances, but it's good enough to get a feel for what is happening. But there's usually a very few overarching ideas, your X' values.

    So long as you're hyper-aggressive about mapping E onto X (but allowing E' to figure in multiple X as E'), and are hyper-aggressive about mapping X into Y (but again allowing X' to figure in multiple Y as X'), then you would have a robot that sketched out a very abstract represenation of the dream, finishing on an overview of any core, central theme there may have been.

    I don't know to say if that's what this robot does, but my guess is that it probably doesn't, and that it certainly doesn't use the kinds of signals filtering or signal resolution I'd consider worthwhile. A neat toy to have, a definitely neat direction to experiment with, but I'm guessing that they could make it ten times what it is now with a little extra coding, a little extra manpower, and a trivial budget for a University.

    Let the research continue, but PLEASE eliminate the grosser errors in the methodology? Pretty please?

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  54. Dream recall may be vague by scarlac · · Score: 1

    Dreams are mostly subconscious activity, usually not governed by any "deliberate" conscious thinking. Due to this fact you will most likely experience things in a dream that passes through your mind at that time. That's often why you'll experience your alarm clock's ringing being a part of the dream the second before you wake up. The same applies to thinking "Oh I hope X doesn't happen!" in a dream and at the same instant... it does.

    All this is nice and well, but the relation to the topic is that dreams are very fragile and easily recalled incorrectly. Subconscious activity is by nature not conscious which means that conscious attempts to recreate a dream may often lead to "filling in the gaps" with newly created imagery. Dream interpretation is a good example of such an event depending on the way the interpretation is done.

    But then again... it's art - who are we are not to interpret it - we might get it wrong...

  55. Look now what u did by the100rabh · · Score: 0

    Now Google is going to have another mechanism to target ads to u

  56. Has it not occurred to anyone by celtic_hackr · · Score: 1

    That with enough of these robots, an internet connection a central repository of dreams, and a learning protocol, that true dream mimicking could be accomplished? I won't call this dream interpretation, that would require an Expert AI system programmed with cognitive science and or Freudian principles (depending on you psychological bent). It could be the ultimate online game.

  57. So wrong it's out the other side by DynaSoar · · Score: 2, Informative

    The headline and summary are almost worse than TFA in terms of being misleading junk. Almost.

    TFA: > Using an algorithm, the creators discovered a set of brainwave patterns, to each pattern a pre-programmed behavior was assigned.

    They *assigned* a pre-programmed behavior to an EEG pattern. The programmed behavior has nothing to do with what was actually going on in the mind.

    They seem to entirely skip over the fact that EEG patterns can be identical to the point of high statistical significance and be cause by extremely different stimuli.

    "Using an algorithm".... well, that makes it all scientifical and everything, so that's OK then. What a verbal turd.

    --
    "I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
    1. Re:So wrong it's out the other side by Have+Brain+Will+Rent · · Score: 1

      Heh, reminds me of an announcement of some new labs and funding I saw on a bulletin board at one of the local universities a few years back. At the time the latest funding buzzword was "interdisciplinary" and I believe the "researchers" (names deleted below) on one project were all either dancers or choreographers. I wrote it down because... well that's obvious. An excerpt:

      "...such as whisper, a joint project of [names deleted]. According to the researchers, whisper (wearable, handheld, intimate, sensory, personal, expressive, responsive system)* builds upon physical practices such as dance improvisation, manifesting cultural and scientific theories of embodiment to inform and to iterate sister methodologies in design, engineering and computing science. ..."

      The announcement said the labs were also getting what at the time was a very pricey little item, a stereo lithographic printer (3D printer)... nothing in the description of the the labs even hinted at a good reason for having this item but I suppose it is possible there was a good reason for it. Any day now I expect to hear of the software engineering breakthroughs brought to us by modern dance, along with the scientific breakthroughs we've all been waiting for from the Social Sciences.

      * As everybody knows picking a good acronym is the foundation upon which the roots depend so that the tree of funding can bear the rich fruits of good academic research.

      --
      The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny - Aesop
  58. Max Headroom by BitwizeGHC · · Score: 1

    Hey, wasn't there an episode of Max Headroom about this? Some television network was harvesting people's dreams for ratings or something?

    --
    N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
  59. T-Shirt remix by zobier · · Score: 1

    Allow my robot to explain through interpretive dance.

    --
    Me lost me cookie at the disco.
  60. Dreamcatcher 3000 by Octavarius · · Score: 2, Funny

    http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF160-The_Dreamcatcher3000.gif

  61. Red Dwarf Dream Recorder by leon.gandalf · · Score: 1

    Bah! i want the Dream Recorder that the cat used on Red Dwarf.

  62. oh dear god by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This thing is an abomination of all that is good sweet and tech-related, and anything even remotely similar. Did you even watch the video?! It does a (bad)INTERPRETIVE DANCE of YOUR DREAMS!... Excuse me i need to go vomit.

  63. The subconsious is easily led. by h3rb3v0r3 · · Score: 0

    While a persons conscious awareness is able to discern truth from falsehood, the subconscious just takes all it gets and accepts it as true.

    So all it would take would be have a speaker to give 'cues' based upon what the camera is detecting so shape/direct.

    I only do as teddy tells me.

  64. Neurotransmitters? by Msdose · · Score: 1

    Your brain's neurotransmitters adopt (random?) levels during sleep. Since your consciousness interprets the emotional state produced by the neurotransmitter configuration as a psychological state (reality), you experience your dreams as real. The almost infinite number of configurations your neurotransmitters can take make it a harder code to break than any crypto in use so the robot thesis is a non-starter.

  65. This is the true Oblig. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF160-The_Dreamcatcher3000.gif

  66. Hack? by framauro13 · · Score: 1

    I'll just dream of SQL Injection attacks, that'll teach that robot to stay out of my head!

    --
    In an effort to conform with internet communication standards, please note that the above comment is 100% biased opinion
  67. double standard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Husband dreams about hot woman and wife sees. Husband embarrassed.
    Wife dreams about hot man and husband sees. Husband embarrassed.

  68. electricsheep.org by Chris+Shannon · · Score: 1

    Actually, I was wondering if we could hook it up to another robot and finally answer the question, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" You can watch your computer dream of electric sheep as a screensaver.
    --
    "Follow me" the wise man said, but he walked behind.
  69. Oh, very good, guys. by gr8scot · · Score: 1

    How exactly would you propose to turn a machine that acts out measured impulses into a mind control device? So of course, you all tell him exactly how to do it. Fantastic.
    --
    All 19 hijackers were known terrorists 09-10-2001. Lack of FBI intelligence does not justify warrantless wiretaps..
  70. The Lathe of Heaven by mink · · Score: 1

    The recording and replay of brainwave patterns reminds me a bit of the device from the above book.

    --
    Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.