Fighter Jet Rats?

LordShaithis · Post by **LordShaithis** » 2005-12-10 02:11am

Grand Moff Yenchin wrote:From what I gather. The simulator sends various signals to the dish-brain. The neurons fire when they're simulated, sending various signals back. The researchers figure out the relationship and interface the signals.

link

Ah, that's a little more detailed. Thank you.

ClaysGhost · Post by **ClaysGhost** » 2005-12-10 09:45am

The application (robot jets) doesn't sound much different to what the people behind the AI in the Creatures computer games were talking about, except this uses real neurons, and that the results here seem less good. Although I heard about the ex-Creatures stuff from New Scientist, so weight it down.

I think the interesting results will not be biobrain-controlled fighters but an insight into how biological neural networks form and operate (and that seems to be what they got the money for). That information may in turn be used to improve artificial neural networks running on silicon.

wolveraptor · Post by **wolveraptor** » 2005-12-13 07:06pm

I still don't understand why the brain is compelled to fly the plane straight instead of sideways, or instead of crashing it.

Grand Moff Yenchin · Post by **Grand Moff Yenchin** » 2005-12-13 09:30pm

wolveraptor wrote:I still don't understand why the brain is compelled to fly the plane straight instead of sideways, or instead of crashing it.

It was "taught" to do so by analyzing the responses and writing an appropriate interface.

For instance, if the simulator sends a "fall" signal, and the brain responds with a "5" signal, then one could write something like "if brainsignal = 5 then pull up" on the interface program.

They have also designed some sort of brain dish controlled virtual animal with a publication here(PDF file).

wolveraptor · Post by **wolveraptor** » 2005-12-14 05:54pm

Doesn't this mean that the flight sim was reprogrammed to adapt to the brain's responses, and not, as they seem to imply, the other way around?

Grand Moff Yenchin · Post by **Grand Moff Yenchin** » 2005-12-15 03:59am

It would be more likely that the reprogramming only involved on controlling the plane, everthing else like the weather factors mentioned were untampered.

Then the brain started to learn how to handle the situations with the basic flying skills it "learned".

Agent Fisher · Post by **Agent Fisher** » 2005-12-15 04:34am

Anyone else getting a Cylon Raider vibe from this whole thing?

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2005-12-15 07:58am

Agent Fisher wrote:Anyone else getting a Cylon Raider vibe from this whole thing?

To say nothing of a certain experimental type of drone fighter used on Balmoral by the Imperials in Dark Empire II.

Grand Moff Yenchin · Post by **Grand Moff Yenchin** » 2005-12-15 10:38pm

I'm still getting bad images from that Rifter Trilogy where cultured brains formed a "simple was easier" paradigm, and purposely started to spread some archaebacteria to wipe out all life. While the humans who used them thought they were preventing the disaster.

AK_Jedi · Post by **AK_Jedi** » 2005-12-16 12:59pm

I just keep getting the feeling like some trekkies will come along and say "Trek said it would happen!!!" and point to voyager neural gel packs or whatever those things were.[/quote]