Taxis Taxis app for iPhone and iPad

【Instruction to Human Subjects】
Thank you very much for participating in this study as a Player (see Note 1).

The purpose of this study is to compare the ability of a kind of artificial life called NAZARs (2) and that of Players.

【Your Tasks】
Several experiments are conducted in this study.
Each experiment consists of Stages 1 and 2, and two different tasks are given to Players.

・Stage 1: To run away from NAZARs for a specified duration.
・Stage 2: To touch and capture a specified number of NAZARs as quickly as possible.


【iPhonotaxis and invisibility】
NAZARs have a behavioral tendency to approach a Players iPhone (iPhonotaxis) and ingest it.
NAZARs are invisible to human naked eyes, but their coordinates are displayed on the screen.

【Stage 1】
An experiment is aborted when a Player’s iPhone is ingested by a NAZAR during Stage 1 of the experiment.
The duration of Stage 1 is different among experiments. Stage 2 begins immediately after Stage 1.

【Stage 2】
The behavior of NAZARs does not change in Stage 2. However, when a NAZAR touches a Player’s iPhone, it is captured and transferred to a subject chamber in our laboratory.
An experiment is completed when a specified number of NAZARs are captured.

The time required to capture a specified number of NAZARs in Stage 2 is recorded and sent to our Data Collection Center (3).

【Experiment 1: Hounds】
Five Type-1 NAZARs (Hounds) are released around a Player. Type 1 has a diameter of 20m, and its speed can reach up to 60km/h. Type 1 can perceive a Players location from 700m away. Players have to run away from these high-speed type NAZARs for 5 minutes, and then capture them. This experiment is conducted within a Petri Dish (4) with a diameter of 2000m.

【Experiment 2: A Chaser】
One Type-6 NAZAR (Chaser) will pursue a Player. The Type-6 will increase its speed only up to half of a Players speed. However, it cannot decrease once increased speed. This is an Ex Vitro (5) Experiment in which a Petri Dish is not defined. Players have to run away from the NAZAR for 20 minutes.

【Experiment 3: The Living Dead】
A Player will be surrounded by 20 Type-2 NAZARs in a Petri Dish with a diameter of 200 m. Type-2 NAZARs are small sized (4m diameter) and their moving speed is comparable to a human.

【Experiments 4 and later】
Currently no information is disclosed.

【IMPORTANT】
Because this App continuously uses GPS, it will drain your iPhones battery very quickly.
See also Note 6.

【NOTES】
(1) Human subjects in this study have been conventionally called Players.
(2) Evil eye in Turkish.
(3) Also known as the GameCenter.
(4) A Petri Dish is a circle defining the area in which an experiment is conducted. When a Player gets out of a Petri Dish, the experiment is aborted.
(5) Out of glass in Latin. An experiment in which a Petri Dish is not defined is called an Ex Vitro Experiment. On the other hand, an experiment conducted with a Petri Dish is called an In Vitro Experiment.
(6) This is a work of fiction.