GEERHEAD
Photographers try to avoid empty
space in their photos. This helps
ensure that photos contain as much
relevant visual information as possible.
Lewis weighs the rule of thirds and
the rule around empty space one
against the other whenever they
conflict, to take the best pictures.
Lewis can also think for himself
when taking photos. He is free to
break the rules altogether and take
feedback about his images. He uses
this information to learn which rules
to break and when in order to deliver
great photos based on a sort of
photographic instinct.
Sharing a more whimsical
moment with Lewis are
members of the Media and
Machines Lab (from left):
Assistant Professor William
Smart; Assistant Professor Cindy
Grimm (seated): two of the
lab’s founders, Shannon
Lieberg, Engineering Class of ‘04
and research assistant Michael
Dixon, B.S./M.A. ‘03; and Nik
Melchior, a fifth year B.S./M.S.
student in computer science
and engineering. Members are
showing off the “playful props”
used by Lewis in the lab.
Live Test
Researchers tested the Lewis
robot photographer on a group of
5,000 subjects over a period of 40
hours. Lewis took 3,000 pictures in
that period. During this 40 hour run,
people (guests at a large technology
event) either ignored the robot
completely or tried to interact with it.
Because the robot wasn’t instilled
with the ability to interact, people
quickly dispensed with it and began
socializing with other people in
the crowd. Because people ignored
the robot, they relaxed and acted
naturally, enabling the robot to take
candid, natural pictures.
it there for? In this version
of the robot it made a noise,
sounding an alarm or signal
when it had taken a picture. However,
the sound wasn’t loud enough for
most people to hear.
If the signal were louder, this
would communicate to people in the
robot’s proximity that it had just taken
a picture. This would form some level
of communication between the robot
and those people, and provide some
simple basis for interaction.
The robot had no way of telling
people to hold still or say cheese. It
took four seconds for the robot to line
up shots, in which time people might
hold still to get their picture taken, or
they might move around. After the
robot’s test run, people suggested
that the robot actually say cheese or
show a picture of a “birdie” (as in,
look at the birdie) to signal that it was
about to take a picture.
People waiting in front of the
robot hoping to have their pictures
taken were often disappointed when
the robot was navigating, getting its
bearings, or homing in on a landmark
instead of taking pictures at that
particular moment. However, the
Lewis close-up head shot with camera.
Results
Among other things, researchers
determined that the robot should
have a sort of bi-modal capability. If
someone is trying to interact with it,
it should stop what it is doing and
interact with those people, taking
their pictures where possible. If no
one is trying to interact with the
robot, it should blend into the
background and continue to take
candid shots. This version of the robot
is only capable of blending in. So, the
robot will ignore people who want to
interact with it or who specifically look
to have their picture taken.
People will be more likely to
interact with the robot on some level
if they know what it is up to. What’s
Lewis has worked
photographing at a real live
wedding reception.
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