Cybernetic System to Allow Physical Interaction

Ant writes "Wired News reports researchers have developed a cybernetic system to allow physical interaction over the Internet. The system allows touching and feeling of animals or other humans in real time, but it's first being tried out on -- chickens. The Touchy Internet Built was by a wacky group of researchers at the Mixed Reality Lab at the National University of Singapore (NUS)."

Chickens

[WillySilly]

Virtual cock fights!

This is news?

[Anonymous Coward]

I already interact with myself while I watch cyber girls on my computer. Man, this ain't news!

Re:This is news?

[F13]

Quote: touching and feeling of animals or other humans..

So are they an "animal" or "other human"?

Re:This is news?

[pugnatious]

I always thought humans were a subset of animals
and not vice versa ...

Re:This is news?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, yes. But this allows you to interact with chickens while watching cyber girls on your computer.

Re:This is news?

[roseblood]

Ah, yes. But this allows you to interact with chickens while watching cyber girls on your computer.

You meant

Ah, yes. But this allows you to interact with cocks while watching cyber girls on your computer.

Re:This is news?

[pg110404]

I already interact with myself while I watch cyber girls on my computer. Man, this ain't news!

Touching yourself? Well that's not hard. I do that all the time.

The trick is to get a real girl to want to touch you..... together OR remotely. That's the really hard part.

Re:This is news?

[David Gould]

I already interact with myself while I watch cyber girls on my computer. Man, this ain't news!

And you don't see any interesting potential applications for a system that can transmit tactile sensations via the internet? None at all?

Sheesh, man, do you need someone to draw you a diagram?

This was bound to come...

[endlessoul]

So you mean scores of geeks can get down and dirty with their favorite cyber-babe without actually meeting them? SWEET!

Re:This was bound to come...

[Escherial]

Or with a chicken. Whichever you prefer, really. Does anyone else find the fact that they applied this stroking to chickens (as in potentially male chickens, cocks) a little telling?

Re:This was bound to come...

[Short Circuit]

It would only take them a minute or so of "feeling" before they determined I'm not attractively shaped. Mental image kicks in, modem kicks off.

Re:This was bound to come...

[name*censored*]

You do realise that some ingenious pr0n site is going to come up with a system where they work out every touch sensation that could possibly happen with, say, a pornstar, and write a program that distributes those sensation signals to your suit based on where your hand is... kind of like, a blind man having sex with an inflatable doll, thinking it's a real girl. And then someone will rip the idea off and distribute it for free....

Reminds me of the FU-FME

[Anonymous Coward]

http://fu-fme.com/ [fu-fme.com]

Oh the golden days of the 'net are brought to fruition!

Re:This was bound to come...

[circusboy]

I think the most important thing is that the experience can be recorded and shared, just imagine the new website/p2p possibilites...

Trolling for redundancy

[Anonymous Coward]

"Wow, cybersex just got a thousand times better! For chickens, anyway."

*cue an onslaught of 9 trillion posts making the exact same joke*

Hmmm....

[Anonymous Coward]

"This is the first human-poultry interaction system ever developed,"

Dunno if I'd go that far...

Re:Hmmm....

[Quirk]

I kill the chicken. I cook the chicken. I eat the chicken... human-poultry interaction system

Re:Hmmm....

[Velox_SwiftFox]

See me...
Feel me...
Pluck me...
Meal me.

Re:Hmmm....

[AvantLegion]

>> I kill the chicken. I cook the chicken. I eat the chicken... human-poultry interaction system

Yeah, I'm sure that's what he meant...

Certainly nothing along the lines of South Park Season 2, Episode 03, I'm sure... [spscriptorium.com]

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Hmmm....

[ChazeFroy]

Do the chickens have large talons?

Flippin sweet!

Re:Hmmm....

[Phroggy]

Well, you know what they say...

Kinky is using a feather.

Perverse is using the whole chicken.

Re:Hmmm....

[tincho_uy]

Reminds me of the difference between erotic and exotic

erotic is when you use a feather... exotic is when you use the hole chicken

Re:Hmmm....

[zero_offset]

What is this "hole chicken" you refer to?
Wait... nevermind, I don't want to know.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

So...

[SpartanVII]

Physical interaction with humans over the internet? This sounds like many a Slashdot reader's idea of a wet dream.

Or nightmare.

[SanityInAnarchy]

You forgot to patch your haptic system! Now your software vulnerabilities are physical! Sucks to be you!

*STAB*

Re:So...

[gstoddart]

Physical interaction with humans over the internet? This sounds like many a Slashdot reader's idea of a wet dream.

Or at least the pre-cursor to one. :-P

Obligatory

[CrazyJim1]

Who wants to touch someone's cock online?

Re:Obligatory

[Khyber]

Maybe the guy in the chicken suit over at ChickenFight [chickenfight.com] would like to touch another cock online?

It's times like this when I wish there was a +6 Too Damned Funny modifier, you'd get it.

Re:Obligatory

[Short Circuit]

I'm going to have to mention this to some of my family and coworkers, and see whether or not I get slapped.

Damnit. I'm going to have a hard time falling asleep tonight...

lots

[gad_zuki!]

Welcome to the field of teledildonics. [wired.com]

Re:Obligatory

[slashdot.org]

Who wants to touch someone's cock online?

Yeah! And who wants to choke my chicken?

Oops...

Joy.....

[stimpleton]

Having tired of my favoritest pass time on the internet - hunting live animals with a remote control rifle...

I can now indulge my 2nd favorite over the internet: feeling chickens.

I can hear my non-nerd friend now: "But why don't you get a real chicken to feel?"

That's exactly my point. Exactly.

[darth_zeth]

Because you have to wonder: how do the machines know what Tasty Wheat feels like? Maybe they got it wrong. Maybe what I think Tasty Wheat feels like actually feels like oatmeal, or tuna fish. That makes you wonder about a lot of things. You take chicken, for example: maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken feel like, which is why chicken feels like everything.

Re:That's exactly my point. Exactly.

[darth_zeth]

haha. dude, you just made my day with that post. thanks :)

here's your cue, slashdot

[hype7]

here's your cue, /.'ers. every corny line about porn on the internet ever seen, here's your chance to post it - free karma for all

-- james

Re:here's your cue, slashdot

[strider44]

unfortunately you don't get karma for funny points, sorry mate!

But since I'm posting on this thread anyway, I wonder what the actresses will feel about that...

Re:here's your cue, slashdot

[FreakyControl]

But since I'm posting on this thread anyway, I wonder what the actresses will feel about that...

From 1+million horny teenagers, quite a bit...

one word

[circletimessquare]

teledildonics [wikipedia.org]

Re:one word

[orion88]

http://opendildonics.org/ [opendildonics.org]

-Ben

pr0n

[DrugCheese]

that touches you!

Internet Sluts

[thegamerformelyknown]

Wow, now those internet sluts can REALLY get around.

How about medical uses...

[bagboy]

Some doctors are already using robots remotely to diagnose patients... In Alaskan remote communities, something like this can eventually provide remote robotic surgery with sensory feedback...

Mod Parent -1 Off Topic

[IcEMaN252]

He's actually trying to be constructive.

Hmm

[FlyByPC]

I did an interview years ago with some guy in the gaming business. He said that someday he expected VR equipment to have "three gloves."

I'm all for new technology and all, but that just doesn't pass the laugh test IMHO. I mean, for one thing, electronics and bodily fluids just don't mix...

Re:Hmm

[Lost+Found]

Hmm... I see. Half-Life 2 would be such a tease.

if this is the ability to stab someone over th net

[hsmith]

I WILL PAY!!!! this would revolutionize the internet in ways never seen before

Kicking

[sethduda]

This brings a whole new meaning to kicking someone off an IRC channel.

wow...

[rune2]

Talk about reach out and touch someone!

How is this "cybernetic"?

[shadow_slicer]

All they're doing is turning on a motor at the press of a button. The motor is in a jacket they put on the chickens. The button is in a replica chicken in another location.

Please tell how this is anymore cybernetic than a telephone!
You could start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cybernetics [wikipedia.org]

we all know where this is going

[TLouden]

just combine it with the hi-def web cast and we'll have adult entertainment all over it's ass, literally

I guess the chicken is the part of this that is...

[Assmasher]

...'new'?

There have been 2-way haptic feedback systems since the early 90's (and probably before that but I am not personally aware of them.)

I personally used a 20+ sensor cyberglove on an SGI IR that was networked to another modified cyberglove in order to transmit tactile response both to and from the target (in this case a rubber ball.) That was in 1997.

Re:I guess the chicken is the part of this that is

[ergo98]

I personally used a 20+ sensor cyberglove on an SGI IR

Yeah, but did you use it on a chicken? I think all of you naysayers are missing the truly original, patent worthy use of this technology "...on a chicken".

I'm going to invent reading email "...on a chicken".

Re:I guess the chicken is the part of this that is

[Assmasher]

I couldn't get the bloody chickens to cooperate. They kept getting crushed. The ball didn't seem to mind. Stupid poultry...

Re:That's why it's patentable!!! URGH!!!

[Assmasher]

I'm sorry, I've just done a bit of research and found that poultry have been patented by Jeff Bezos just this past month. No prior art was discovered by the US Patent Office (who were too busy counting greenbacks.)

Jeez....

[wpiman]

You think Slashdotters would be commenting up a storm on this. I think 90% of the target audience is watching the new Star Wars movie.

In episode 7, Leia will be able to give you a virtual blow job.

a new idea?

[verbatim]

Is this a *new* idea? Hardly.

http://www.fu-fme.com/ [fu-fme.com] (humor)
http://www.sinulator.com/ [sinulator.com] (real)

So I guess the next logical step was a chicken. I think these guys have spent too much time on a farm.

So what happens when...

[qualico]

you /. one of these devices?

Can't help but envision the future where your touch device is something you can have groups of people collaborating in all at once.

Porn aside, since human touch can be one of the most positive feelings, maybe this will have a good impact on society.

Now que in the "rub and tug" jokes.

Re:So what happens when...

[Lord_Dweomer]

"So what happens when you /. one of these devices?"

You have a really good orgasm?

Re:So what happens when...

[qualico]

lol, there is no doubt that if chat is popular with the computer crowd, a rub will also be!

I forget which University it was...

[jd]

...but there was one webcam site that allowed you to control robots to dig in sand, plant a garden, etc. And, of course, the Mars Rovers are about as remote as you can get - at least, this side of the Asteroid Belt.

So they've managed to wire up a force-feedback VR system that can transmit IP packets. All things considered, I'm more amazed that this is even interesting, in this day and age. Given the usual speed of technological development, VR should be about at the point of regular home-use. We should be seeing virtual TV remotes inside of datagloves or Internet commerce through meaningfully browsable stores. (Actually, that was tried at one point. Not very successful, but the bandwidth really wasn't there.)

In other words, we should be a bit beyond the chicken stage.

Beg your pardon...

[msimm]

I disagree. In another 10 or 15 years your going to be looking back on todays technology like we do NES. The reason it failed was because the technology *wasn't* there. The closest visually are still basic low-poly models relying heavily on texture mapping to provide the appearance of detail that just isn't there.

When you start treading VR waters I think you realize how quickly todays technology fails to fit the bill. Novel? Sure. Maybe even fun. But no-one is going to mistake a sweaty vinyl glove and some hot, neck wrenching, low-res goggle for "virtual reality".

Reality contains a lot more physical feed-back then we are currently capable of reproducing. Thats why VR has remained a tech-show novelty and not become the booming industry you'd like to see (and your not alone).

Re:Beg your pardon...

[hawk]

I disagree. In another 10 or 15 years your going to be looking back on todays technology like we do NES.

Another crack like that and I'm going to hit you over the head with my Atari 2600. A five contact joystick and 128 bytes of RAM is all that *real* games need :)

Belive me, you got *plenty* of feedback as the contacts or wires wore out.

hawk, who won't admit to the quantity of the things that he rebuilt back then

God Help Me

[TexVex]

I swore I'd never do this...

In cybernetic Internet, remote controls YOU

I feel dirty. But more so from all the goddamn chicken jokes I've already read, mind you.

subservos

[Doc Ruby]

The chickens are already cybernetic [subservientchicken.com].

Re:subservos

[dtfinch]

That's awesome. I tried a lot of commands.

"spin"
"watch tv"
"throw pillows"
"disco"
"reverse disco"
"robot"
"sword fight"
"relax"
"heart attack"

All worked. Only a small minority of my more complex commands, like "hold up 2 fingers left, 3 fingers right", led to incorrect actions with similar spelling or wording. That must of been a lot of pre-recording.

Re:subservos

[Doc Ruby]

"Prerecording"? So much would be required that Occam's Razor tells me that chicken is live :).

Re:subservos

[stfvon007]

I typed in "Mcdonalds" and it crashed. (seriously. It was starting the video for the motion for the headshake, but got stuck on the first frame) I refreshed the site and tried it again, but the chicken just shook his head then.

FINALLY!!!

[Khyber]

This means that eventually, I'll be able to watch two people from the internet actually fight! Though, you have to wonder, is the technology STRONG enough for that kind of tactile feedback?

Rock'em Sock'em Robots Online, anyone? Betcha I can make your head pop first!

Re:FINALLY!!!

[Spacejock]

Betcha I can make your head pop first!

Well yes, that's another use for this technology.

Finally, a replacement to abstinence

[Polarism]

for 100% prevention of all those nasty things like babies and STD's.

Rich and famous?

[grishnav]

http://bash.org/?4281 [bash.org] get up get on up get up get on up and DANCE * nmp3bot dances :D- i'm going to become rich and famous after i invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet

All non-smellovision research is wasted on me

[Che Guevarra]

All that time and money down the drain when we could have found out what yoda and chewbacca smelled like. Touch technology ... ridiculous.

Prior Art

[miyako]

hmm... hasn't this been around [fu-fme.com] for a while aready? [link may be NSFW]

whoring

[Alsee]

GPL Cyber Dildonics. [opendildonics.org]
But does your dildo Run Linux? Yes!
In Soviet Russia you fuck the microsoft.
Insert Beowulf cluster of dildos here.... err I mean insert Beowulf cluster of dildos joke here.

Get your Chicken Fucker wavs/mp3s here [moviewavs.com]

Fowl play foreplay is foul play.

-

OMG!

[J05H]

Those perverts are gonna go choke the chicken!!

Josh

PS. Isn't this old hat? Like Howard Rheingold, Jaron Lanier and the whole "teledildonics" thing from the early 90s?

Recommended Reading!!!

[Kulaid982]

I highly recommend that you check out Ray Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual Machines published by Penguin Putnam in 2000...
I read the book for a paper in a class I took with Dr. Foerst of MIT AI lab fame...

Anyway, as I recall, Kurzweil goes into a lengthy discussion of nanobots that would totally enable a level of virtual-reality interaction with other humans... He discussed a whole new level of cyber-sex encompassing all the tactile sensation without the STD's.

Seriously, check it out, it will mak

one day we may even play chess online

[Muhammar]

another possibility: a third-world farmer milking their cattle remotely by means of inexpensive, solar-powered Linux box

Gives a whole new meaning to....

[pg110404]

choke the chicken....

Dude's name is Cheok, not Choke!

[Senor_Programmer]

"Adrian David Cheok" [nus.edu.sg].

Reporter Lakshmi should really appreciate the additional 'touch' capability!

not first

[cahiha]

The idea is not [wikipedia.org] new [teledildonics.com], and there is even an open source [opendildonics.org] application (and as an open source developer, let me say: it's about time that we can touch each other without proprietary protocols).

breasts?

[Anonymous Coward]

that could have been a good poll
what would you like to interact with?
1) breasts
2) breasts
3) breasts
4) breasts
5) breasts
6) Cmdr Taco breasts

Why did the chicken cross the road?

[Harald Paulsen]

..because some guy on the Internet pushed it.

I'm sorry, but it had to be said :-)

He wasn't kidding...

[Cl1mh4224rd]

<Zybl0re> get up
<Zybl0re> get on up
<Zybl0re> get up
<Zybl0re> get on up
<phxl|paper> and DANCE
* nmp3bot dances :D-<
* nmp3bot dances :D|-<
* nmp3bot dances :D/-<
<[SA]HatfulOfHollow> i'm going to become rich and famous after i invent a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet

http://bash.org/?top [bash.org]

RIAA

[floydman]

"Where did you get that music from!!!"
WHHAAAAAMMMM!!!!!

too long on slashdot

[griffjon]

You know you've read slashdot for too long when a conversation thread involving teledildonics and chickens doesn't even phase you.

Oblig. Napoleon Dynamite

[jaysones]

Do the chickens have large talons?

Re:Handjobs?

[Walt Dismal]

Researchers ... are cybering... chickens??? Thank god the DARPA money is going to the right things.

Re:Handjobs?

[sleeper0]

When showcased at the Version 05 arts festival in Chicago, viewers suggested using the system for internet sex. Experts dismiss the whole idea as silly.

"Current haptic displays typically allow a user to interact with a virtual or remote environment through a tool," says Allison M. Okamura, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. "Hence, the systems feel like you are poking at the world through a stick. A major challenge is providing the user with more delicate tactile sensations, such as feeling that occurs when one draws her finger over a rough or smooth surface. This kind of realism is difficult to achieve."

Re:Handjobs?

[eln]

All of this just means they need to give the technology to the porn industry. They'll have it suitable for online sex in no time, and charge an arm and a leg for it. Or, if they can't get it beyond "poking people with sticks," they'll just open up an S&M site with it.

Re:Handjobs?

[pete6677]

I just hope they're able to effectively keep hackers out. Imagine what a goatse troll could do if they were able to hack into a virtual sex session. Wow, that thought just made internet sex a lot less appealing.

Re:Handjobs?

[electric_mind]

[...] Experts dismiss the whole idea as silly. [...]

I wonder what sort of experts these are ... pr0n experts? technology experts? WTF?

----

No, I haven't RTFA.

Wait!

[winkydink]

You want a handjob from a chicken or you want to give a handjob to a chicken?

Either way, the term "choking the chicken" takes on a whole, new meaning.

Re:Wait!

[suso]

Actually, I think you want to choke the chicken.

Re:Handjobs?

[Vengeance_au]

From the article;

... viewers suggested using the system for internet sex. Experts dismiss the whole idea as silly.

"... the systems feel like you are poking at the world through a stick. A major challenge is providing the user with more delicate tactile sensations, such as feeling that occurs when one draws her finger over a rough or smooth surface. This kind of realism is difficult to achieve."

Now, I don't know what kind of gear you get into, but getting my happy parts getting poked with a stick doe

Re:Handjobs?

[f1r3f0g]

... viewers suggested using the system for internet sex. Experts dismiss the whole idea as silly.

Partly becasue it was a debasement of technology, but mostly because they never got invited to those sorts of parties.

Re:Handjobs?

[Dead Kitty]

If you were using Windows, would BSOD be changed to B-Balls-OD?

Re:Uhhh...

[uberdave]

So does this mean I can choke a chicken over the Internet now?

Not in California. [slashdot.org]

Re:I hate myself for this...

[mikael]

Imagine a Beowulf clucker of those

We call that a chicken farm.