An Amazing Pair of Interactive Robots That Use Split Brain Waves to Engage in Movement

San Francisco, Apr-2017

Kal Spelletich, a San Francisco robotics artist and longtime friend of Laughing Squid and Noisebridge co-founder Mitch Altman combined their talents to create an incredible interactive robot installation that was live-streamed in April 2017 and required the participation of audience members to work. The two large split brained robots, named Romulus and Remus, were controlled respectively by the brainwaves of volunteers, all harvested by a “customized” EEG.

Volunteers will use the distinct brainwaves from each side of your brain (via a hacked and customized EEG that reads right side and left side brainwaves) to make the two robots move, collaborate, interact, fight and even kiss. (When they do “correctly” interact, symbolic and metaphoric events will happen, activating lights, fog, other robots, sounds, chaos.) …We will harvest brain wave data from live audience volunteers. This live streaming brain data will run the two robots.

San Francisco, Apr-2017

San Francisco, Apr-2017

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.