\u201cFEEL\u201d was a six-year ERC Advanced project led by J. Kevin O\u2019Regan at the Universite\u0301 Paris Descartes, devoted to testing and developing the \u201csensorimotor\u201d approach to consciousness. This approach purports to explain the \u201chard\u201d problem of understanding the nature of \u201cqualia\u201d, that is to say the \u201cfeel\u201d associated with perceptual experience: for example, why \u2018red\u2019 feels red rather than feeling like, say, the sound of a bell. One line of research in the project involved expanding the approach as a competitor to existing frameworks for understanding consciousness by situating it with respect to other \u201cenactive\u201d and more mainstream (e.g. representationalist) approaches, and by exploring and defending its unique explanatory advantages. As a first practical application of the approach, a mathematical line of research showed how the notion of space can emerge in a system that uses coincidence detection to capture sensorimotor invariants. This work had applications in robotic sensor calibration and gave rise to advances in deep learning. The sensorimotor theory also has much to say about the perceived nature of color, and numerous papers were published about how the approach relates to classical color theory. One interesting application concerned the well-known color-switching internet meme #theDress. Other practical applications of the FEEL project concerned \u201csensory substitution\u201d or \u201csensory augmentation\u201d, i.e. the possibility of using one sense modality to replace or augment another. In particular the project developed and tested a device that provides a \u201csense of North\u201d using auditory input, and another device that augments perception of speech through tactile input. Finally the project investigated how 3-9 month old babies use sensorimotor invariants to understand the structure of their bodies, a question relevant not just to psychology but also to robotics. The \u201cFEEL\u201d project employed 9 postdocs, published more than 60 papers, and organised 7 international workshops. It generated an ERC \u201cproof of concept\u201d project \u201cFeelSpeech\u201d on sensory augmentation, and was closely involved with the EU FETopen project \u201cGoalRobots\u201d.<\/p>\n
A detailed overview of project achievements is available here.<\/a><\/p>\n We would like to thank all our team members and collaborators for the exciting work and new discoveries that we made together!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cFEEL\u201d was a six-year ERC Advanced project led by J. Kevin O\u2019Regan at the Universite\u0301 Paris Descartes, devoted to testing and developing the \u201csensorimotor\u201d approach to consciousness. This approach purports to explain the \u201chard\u201d problem of understanding the nature of … Continue reading