How can we enable machines to interact and share the same space with us?

Up until now, mobile artificial systems have not played a significant role in our daily lives. Public space is something merely exclusively utilized by humans, it is where we walk, explore, engage with others. How we make use of this space, how we interact, where we stand transports a lot about feelings, mood, intimacy. Algorithmic Apperception investigates ways to admit artificial systems into this space. It is the ambition to enable machines to not only sense their environment but make sense of it.

In order to weave themselves seamlessly into our daily life, machines need to be able to derive intentions from human behavior. An autonomous vehicle is only useful if it can correctly identify that one person intending to cross the road. Understanding what humans are up to puts an artificial system one step ahead, enabling it to proactively provide e.g. contextual options.

In many aspects this research ambition consequently extends into the fields of sociology and psychology. Providing machines with valuable information requires proper sensors and profound multi-sensory techniques, similar to humans making use of their body senses. A meaningful combination of obtained features in conjunction with a sociological and cultural understanding assures natural interaction, simplicity and intuition. Furthermore, recent advances in artificial intelligence open a variety of new possibilities.