A window into the robot ‘mind’ : using a graphical real-time display to provide transparency of function in a brain-based robot

Biomimetic robots are often given a humanoid or animaloid form that generates useful interaction affordances through similarities to natural counterparts. This has raised concerns about the potential for deception by creating the expectation of human- or animal-like intentional states that cannot (supposedly) be generated in artefacts. Here we report on the design of a graphical user interface (GUI) to the brain-based control system of the MiRo animal-like robot that we are developing to test the value of real-time displays as a means of increasing transparency for biomimetic robots and as a tool for investigating people’s understanding of the relationship between internal mental processes and behaviour.