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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."

38 of 142 comments (clear)

  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 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
  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: 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.
    3. 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.)
    4. 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
    5. 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
    6. 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.

    7. 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
    8. 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.

    9. 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.
  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.
  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. Raises the question.. by wellingtonsteve · · Score: 4, Interesting

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

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. If I dream in Code by AuntieWillow · · Score: 5, Funny

    can the robot do my work for me?

  12. 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!
  13. 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.
  14. 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
  15. 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?
  16. Better headline: by jwietelmann · · Score: 5, Funny

    Robot Observes Dreams, Does Interpretive Dance

  17. 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.

  18. 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.
  19. What? by mac1235 · · Score: 2, Funny

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

  20. "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)
  21. 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
  22. Dreamcatcher 3000 by Octavarius · · Score: 2, Funny

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