Wellcome Trust-funded project teaches robots to love punk music
03 July 2008
The Wellcome Trust funded artist Fiddian Warman’s project to build robots that can respond to music by bouncing (or ‘pogoing’) up and down in time to the beat. But the robots have also been programmed with neural networks that enable them to compare the live music they’re hearing to classic punk music to which they have been pre-conditioned. The more the live music resembles their classic punk education - the ‘punkier’ it is - the more vigorously the robots will pogo.
Their neural networks have been designed to imitate the cells of the human brain that stimulate mimicry. Called “mirror neurons”, these cells fire in the same way both when we perform a certain action and when we see or hear someone else do the same action. Recent research suggests networks of mirror neurons in our brain may be responsible for learning and even feelings of empathy.
Neurotic questions how learning develops through the brain’s empathetic responses. The robots have developed their own neural connectivity through listening and will express their pleasure or displeasure to the new, live music through their pogoing action. The project explores robotic science and neurology, and highlights areas such as taste, learning and pleasure.
In developing the robots and giving them their musical taste, Fiddian worked with musical director Andrew Tweedie, programmer Jons Jones Morris, neurologist Dr Barry Gibb, and computational biologist Professor Peter McOwan from Queen Mary, University of London.
The band includes frontman Fiddian himself, Andrew Tweedie on guitar, drummer Chris Bashford and Rob Bartram on bass. They will be performing tracks written especially for the project. How their performance compares to classic punk music - well, the robots will be the judge of that.
Neurotic play at the ICA on Thu. 3, Fri. 4 and Sat. 5 July.