DARPA's 'Social Puppet'

Roland Piquepaille writes "Videogame creators are heavily using software to animate objects or characters without reprogramming them between two scenes. Now, game designers from the University of Southern California (USC) have developed 'Social Puppet,' a computer engine to 'help soldiers learn unfamiliar languages by interacting with animated characters.' For this project, financed by DARPA, the researchers have used their expertise in previous videogames used by the armed forces, such as 'Tactical Iraqi.' But previous games were focused on teaching language and customs while Social Puppet is giving on-screen characters human non-verbal communication behaviors."

Interacting with Iraqis

[amightywind]

There's more to "interacting" than killing, raping, and torturing. I say it's about time soldiers learn that.

Well, our soldiers also passed out soccer balls in an effort to win hearts and minds. But seriously, this program is a useful tool for training to counter islamist insurgent battle tactics: the use of women and children as human shields, the fake surrender, the roadside bomb, and sniping from mosques.

Re:crowd control on the keyboard

[MichaelSmith]

still would prefer soldiers to get this kind of cultural briefing in a less synthetical environment

Especilly since software is usually either pathetically easy to manipulate or totally impossible to deal with. It doesn't have enough intelligence to act like a real human being.

It is hard to see how this software can help anybody interact with any real person.

Re:crowd control on the keyboard

[StikyPad]

Great, now people will learn about:

• fire without burning themselves
• gills without growning them.
• quantum theory without actually looking at atoms.
• distant galaxies without actually going there.
• flying planes without ever getting in one.
• sex without having it.
• foreign languages without leaving home.

Blah blah blah.. Simulations are always used when the subject matter is too dangerous, too expensive, or otherwise impractical for hands-on learning. You don't jump into a firefight to learn how to shoot. Describing and/or simulating those events is pretty much the same way we've been teaching for thousands of years. If you're thinking the process goes like this:

Drill Sergeant: "Ok recruit, sit down at that terminal and follow the instructions on screen."
[30 minutes later]
Johnny: "Ok, all done."
Drill Sergeant: "All done WHAT?"
Johnny: "All done, SIR!"
Drill Sergeant: "That's right! Now get on that plane and get your ass on the battlefield. You're a soldier now!"

You're sorely mistaken.

(He'd have to do way more pushups).

Re:crowd control on the keyboard

[Trelane]

Especilly(sic) since software is usually either pathetically easy to manipulate or totally impossible to deal with.

If it's the latter, then software's already emulating reality.

[End Cynicism]

Re:Military intelligence

[brit74]

> Any group using force to project its terms is a terrorist group.

Indeed, that's why all World War 2 vets are actually terrorists. It doesn't matter if your enemy is the loathsome Nazis or headed by a self-proclaimed deity on earth (Imperial Japan) who invaded China and killed millions of Chinese. Imposing force is always terrorism. For that matter, when cops impose force on me after robbing a bank - they're terrorists. When will people learn that a big peace rally would've stopped the Nazis dead in their tracks?

Re:So...

[RiotXIX]

You should learn to differentiate between a single person, or even a group of people, who behaves badly and a whole class of individuals

This comment isn't a personal attack on you (I don't know who you are or who you root for), but on a note it's ironic how it was a small group of terrorist bombing a few buildings that 'declared war' in the first place. I have a hard time believing a bunch of of people who defend their homeland while it's being invaded by foreign soldiers bombing the fck out of their women and children are now 'terrorist insurgents' because they are showing acts of violence towards Americans. If only the Government had taken your advice...

Re:DARPA no!

[slashdotmsiriv]

If you think that is bad, I heard DARPA created a special computer network for the military too. I think it was designed to survive a nuclear attack. After reading this article and the one about the computer network, I've really come to dislike DARPA. If you ask me, DARPA should not waste their time working on such projects for the military. They should stick to peaceful things like autonomous vehicles capable of traveling over the desert alone. DARPA is a branch of the military. It's as if you are suggesting that the Pentagon stops dealing with war and stuff and start working on global warming... Please get a clue.

Re:Tax money, investment

[c6gunner]

You know, I wanted to make a post about how wrong you are....but ironically enough, the fact that you could beleive/say something like that is a good indication that more funding for education may not be such a bad idea.

Carry on.

defend their homeland?

[c6gunner]

Defend it from what exactly? Do you realize that something like 800 civilians are killed every month by these "proud defenders of Iraq", while civilian casualties inflicted by US troops sit at a small fraction of that?

"To save the villiage, we had to burn the villiage" comes to mind.

The only ones defending their homeland are the ING and the IP. The "freedom fighters" we hear so much about aren't fighting to protect their homeland, they're fighting to protect a regressive culture and their own power over others.

Re:So...

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, actually, I grew up in Appalachia, my dad was unemployed and my mom was a teacher. I'm now a commercial pilot. So yes, you cunt, I believe that if you quit crying about how other people cause your problems and do something, yes, you can get what you want if you work hard enough. However, people like you keep trying to prevent that. You keep telling us that "it's not our fault we're poor, it's because society has forgotten us" and "it's not your fault the mexicans have taken all your jobs; it's Bush's fault for his foreign policy". Crock of shit. You know why mexicans are taking jobs? It's because white people are too lazy to work, and black people are too lazy to work. Coal miners start at $15/hour and they're too lazy to work. I say let the spics in; they'll actually work and they don't put up with the union cronyism that's run out all of the jobs in the valley.