Event 2: Lecture by Louis-Philippe Demers

In this class, we learned how robotics and art could be intertwined. Last month, I attended a lecture by Louis-Philippe Demers, an artist who uses robotics in many ways.

During his lecture, Demers spent some time discussing the concept of perception. He showed a clip of a 1944 psychology experiment by Fritz Heider and Marianne Simmel. The clip features moving shapes, however, people start assembling a story in their mind of what is going on, as if the shapes are people.

He also showed a video of a robot attempting to climb stairs (see below). Demers pointed out that we tend to put meaning in this video instead of just recognizing it as a robot trying to figure something out. When the robot falls, many people react and feel sorry for it. The robot isn't real and cannot feel anything when it falls, yet humans empathize with it. I have to admit that when I saw the video, I definitely felt bad when the robot tripped, even though I knew it couldn't feel any emotions. As a psychology major, I have seen the Heider and Simmel clip before, but it was interesting for me to see the same concept in a different setting. 

One of the interesting projects Demers worked on was called Blind Robot. A person sits down and is touched by a robot, in the same way a blind human could touch someone to visualize what he or she looks like. Demers mentioned that when he puts a mirror in the room so people can see themselves being touched, many individuals take a selfie. I think I would probably have a different reaction; I would not enjoy being touched by this robot.  

In the project Inferno, inspired by Dante's Inferno, people are placed in suits connected to robots. The robot moves the person's arms at any given moment and the individual does not have much control. Demers mentioned that this art represents the boredom of being a machine. He also said that it's meant to represent what hell could be like. I was not a fan of this project because I found it creepy and not aesthetically pleasing. 

Overall, Louis-Philippe Demers' lecture was interesting.  Previously, I would have thought that humans would only show emotion to a robot such as Hiroshi Ishiguro's geminoid (because it looks realistic), but that is not the case. His lecture demonstrated how robotics can be used to learn more about human behavior, specifically perception and empathy. 

"Art Electronica 2013, Louis Philippe Demers -- The Blind Robot." YouTube. YouTube, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 12 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRKO1En2HTk>.

Demers, Louis-Philippe. "Louis-Philippe Demers Lecture." Louis-Philippe Demers Lecture. United States, Los Angeles. 21 Apr. 2015. Lecture.

"Honda's Asimo Robot Buckling on the Stairs." YouTube. YouTube, 12 Dec. 2006. Web. 12 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTlV0Y5yAww>.

"Inferno @ Stereolux 2015." YouTube. YouTube, 18 Apr. 2015. Web. 12 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mele9SxKyf0>.

"Inferno." Processing-Plant. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2015. <http://processing-plant.com/web_csi/index.html#project=inferno>.

Webb, David. "Fritz Heider & Marianne Simmel: An Experimental Study of Apparent Behavior." Psychology. N.p., Apr. 2013. Web. 12 May 2015. <http://www.all-about-psychology.com/fritz-heider.html>.