RobotoDreamz - ELYen concept

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read an introductory interviews on Vive Les Robots:
1. interview with Next Dilla 
2. Robot Dreams: a New Concept [inerview] 

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Read general concept of Robotodreamz made by Next Dilla:

The Robot Who has Dreams

According to one of the simplest dream theories, the dreams are induced by a). Physical stimulators, b). Events happened throughout the day that are conflated (first, sliced into different cadres) together and c). Human desires and fantasies. According to Freud, dream formation processes include: condensation, transformations, content conflation, violation of the spacial logic, displacement of the physical spaces and objects, overlapping, etc.

If the robots are created to model the physical behaviors of humans, why should not these robots try to model inner physic activities as well (even at the primitive level)?

Thus, we can take various parts from the different dream theories and transplant them into the machine in order to make a robot whose basic function will not be to express emotions, running or holding a glass, but to have dreams.

Imagine a machine that models the dreaming process. Imagine a cybernetic version of the dreaming process – VHS characters, digital sky, the whole audio-video unconscious of the robot, which radiates on the nearby objects from the projector built in the back of the robot’s head and at the same time, is transmitted through the separate streaming to the network (onto the specially designed website for the robot’s dreams). Every internet user will have an opportunity to involve in this process and watch the unconscious in action.

Robot

Our specially constructed (or bought and reprogrammed) robot has its own system of time keeping. She has a permanent data store according to which it moves.

• The end of the day for the Robot means that she must go to sleep
• The process of sleeping is accompanied by the multimedia show, which is “seen” by the sleeping robot. This process is called the dreaming.
• The multimedia show which is dreamt by the robot is a cybernetic cut-up.

The Content of the Dreams

Dreaming

In general, dramaturgy and content creation of the robot’s dreams will be totally random process and humans will not be part of it. The sole thing we can initially determine will be those certain properties that will form the dreams’ frame and patterns.

The dream as a robot’s unconscious product comprises of the following elements: Videos recorded during the day time (the view from the robot’s eyes) that will be intermingling together and according to various rules, will perform the modeling of the dreaming process (for instance, the dreams will be undergoing those processes that are described by Freud: consideration, displacement, symbolization, secondary revision etc.)

The color of the dream may be determined by the temperature that the sleeping robot is experiencing with her special sensory organs – depending on the certain properties of the temperature, special color or structure philters will be applied to the robot’s dreams. The readily downloaded videos from the internet will be added to the data storage (+ the parts of the robot’s program code in the form of the video).

At various times it will be possible to generate cut-up images randomly and manage their arrangement by the preliminarily coded scenarios.

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The robot has an USB port and a Bluetooth, by which she can be plugged into the computer or she can download additional files from the computer into her brain. She will also have digital archive of her dreams on the internet (for instance, at the Robotdreamz.com). Besides this, she will possess an invisible “third eye” on her head which will be activated in the process of dreaming and by its in-built projector it will emanate the content of the dreams on the surrounding objects. You can watch these cadres at every corner of your house or the street. You can invite your friends or your kids before they go to sleep to watch the robot’s dreams, but you won’t be able to record them.

In order to record the dreams, the robot can be plugged in the computer during her sleep and at this point, the main act will take place: Anyone from the any corner of the world will be able to watch the dreams of the first dreaming robot on the planet – the dreams will be transmitted in real time by the online streaming on the website specially designed for dreams.

The dreams will not be the same. Every night is full of different and unique dreams. If we won’t plug the robot into the computer during her sleep, we won’t be able to see her dreams but she will be still able to dream. Besides this, the starting time of the dreaming process will be totally random as well – you will never know when the process will start to unfold.

The robot’s dreams can be streamed on the streets or at the art galleries (the website will be Robotdreamz.com [Robot Dream Cinema]). We can set up data storage of the dreams on the website as well.

There are two big steps that need to be worked out:

1. Writing of the robot’s dreams. Generative algorithms.

The program must be able to juggle with audio-video-photo-textual data, according to the preliminarily written and random pattern-scenarios.

The program will be electronic equivalent of the textual cut-up- but in this case, instead of the text, we will have multimedia information.

2. Constructing the robot , or buying the ready-made robot

A robot should be able to undertake elementary actions (moving, seeing, avoiding the obstacles, etc.)

The first stage of the project can be viewed as an art event, but at the second stage we can already pursue a deeper research:

For instance, robot’s dream may take place in the specially designed 3D environment where the robot’s consciousness will find itself during the sleep: In other words, the robot is doing an automatic log in and her dreams are taking place in that environment. Emotions, viewed objects and motions accumulated throughout the day time are utilized as “launching” parameters, according to which the digital dreams’ content, atmosphere and development will be constructed.

Moreover, it will be more interesting if the robot will be able to acquire some knowledge in this 3D environment and then use it in the real environment. Thus, it will be possible to model another theory of the dreams –the threat simulation theory.

I think at the next stage, this 3D environment should be arranged in the gamers’ fashion - after which it can be further sophisticated - : actions of the dreamer within dream, the objects and figures in the dream, interactions between the dreamer and the characters in the dream, the dream's settings, transitions, options and outcome.

We can also think about the possibility that our robot can be connected to the online games. Moreover, during the sleeping process, the process of generating video content can be accompanied by the sound which will be 1). Its program code converted into the audio format, or 2). The real radio waves - during the sleep robot’s inbuilt radio set may start to search for the radio signals and the sound of this searching process (the sound of hissing) will serve as a natural soundtrack of the robot’s dreams.

At the current moment, the project is in its very initial phase. This text is a theoretical outline which will be altered and improved many times in the future.

The project has two stages of development: First, I am individually working on the project for a relatively long period of time and second, creative collaboration (and more fun) takes place (for a relatively smaller period of time). The most important thing is to attract people who will be interested in the project.

Generally speaking, such type of robot is an art product situated at the intersection of the robotics, video and net art and dream theories.

Moreover, this is a new instrument for the exploration of the dreams which on the first stage starts to (art-)model only the simplest theories on the superficial level, but on the next stage, we can start to model more complex theories as well.

The project’s final output (as I currently envision it) will be the surrealist robot freed from the confines of the everyday practicality, whose “function” will be to engage in the abstract activities. This will be the machine which generates its life content during the sleep like we generate most of our dreams. The robot’s dreams will be, most of the time, very similar to ours – unique and often, absurd, dangerous, obscure or portentous.

“a dream is a work of art which requires of the dreamer no particular talent,special training, or technical competence. Dreaming is a creative enterprise in which all may and most do participate" clarck S.Hall

[image by Ana Alex Tabatadze]

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"For me robots are hybrid angelic guides to unknown territories. And may be new species, who will explore this cruel and wonderful universe, "in which we float like a mute of dust," with us. "