15. Sensorial Computing

Humanity is at a special time in its relationship with technology where there is an increasing likelihood of artificially replicating characteristics which we thought were in the realm of the distinctly human. Artificial Intelligence and Robotics are making the news increasingly often and replication of body parts is also making progress. This chapter looks at senses which although not exclusively human have a powerful potential to support other higher functions and aspects of human life. Technology has been developing nature-inspired artifacts which resemble somehow their human counterparts with specific practical applications. So far these explorations have been mostly isolated. It is only a matter of time, however, until these become physically and logically connected into a cooperative fashion – in fact Robots typically use them although not always in their full capacity. Such developments will provide machines with interface capacities of a higher order, bringing new powerful tools to solve new problems, whilst raising unexpected scenarios and challenges for our societies. Regardless of whether we want it or not, it seems impossible to stop technological progress in this direction. We assume this development is here to stay. Thus we look at the artificial and human synergies, how interaction with machines is influenced by sense-like interface capabilities – namely “sensorial computing”.