Getting computers to respond is an art
Oklahoman, The (Oklahoma City, OK)
May 16, 2006
Author: Diane Clay; Staff Writer
During one of his regular searches on the work of fellow University of Oklahoma professors, Adam Brown stumbled onto the Web site of Andrew Fagg.
There, he found images and research papers on subjects including the brain, robots and how people and machines can integrate.
"I saw Andrew's Web site, and he was into monkey heads and brains, and I thought, 'This guy is cool.'" Brown, 33, said.
The art professor called Fagg, and during a meeting over lunch, the two decided to work on a project that would combine Fagg's interest in robots and Brown's longing to work between the lines of traditional art.
They came up with bions.
Bions are 4-inch plastic pieces that resemble models of teeth in dentists' offices. Inside each piece is a circuit board and sensors.
Each bion has the ability to sense when someone is near, and react, typically by getting quiet. They also tell the bion next to them about what they "see." The message is passed neighbor to neighbor.
Once the computers become more comfortable with the approaching person, they begin to chirp and glow blue.
"As soon as you turn one on, they create a network with each other like a school of fish," Brown said.
"There is low-level artificial intelligence going on, so they are making some decisions based on their experience."
The bions are hung from the ceiling at varying levels and distances. They appear to be art until a visitor walks close enough to activate them.
Brown and Fagg, an OU computer science professor, experiment with the number of bions and their spacing. Brown said the bions act differently when the number changes.
The researchers are using the information to create a sensory energy field as art, to learn more about how peoples' brain connections work and how robots can be made to teach and learn from each other.
Fagg said the latter concept will be useful when robots are sent into space to set up camps before people arrive. A few robots could be developed to train other machines and to learn how to better work with people.
"That was the idea," said Fagg, 39, "to make something that has scientific achievement as well as art achievement."
A 1,000-bion exhibit will return to Oklahoma from New York before joining a display in Boston at the end of July.
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