We converted the robotic arm to a tool for people to get access to the digital world. By driving the interface we designed, the robot arm can cooperate with people’s movement and enable them to dance with the digital version of themselves.
The project mainly focused on exploring innovative applications of the robot arm.
— Inspiration —
“All media are extensions of some human faculty — psychic or physical.”
—Marshall McLuhan
The wheel is an extension of the foot; the book is an extension of the eye; the clothing is an extension of the skin. All of those media are extensions of ourselves, assisting us in contacting the environment. However, as ordinary people, one could not get access to all media in his daily life.
Robot arms, an extension of the hand, are mostly used for the manufacturing industry. They are hidden in factories, and thus most people never see a real robot arm before.
Therefore, we managed to design a secondary medium, an interface, which build a connection between the human and the world of the machine, offering people an opportunity to have the direct contact with robot arms. Mutually, it gives the robot arms a chance to make extensions of human in other fields.
— Interface —
The installation works as an interface between human and the robot arm. It creates an digital version of the visitor as a mirror.
— Prototype —
The display of the installation is based on postures. We used the Kinect to read postures from visitors and then transferred digital data to the computer. The program we designed manipulates the Arduino into outputting processed digital information to decoders, 74HC595N, which then control the whole 6*8*8 LED matrix.
— Prototype —
Due to the Persistence of Vision, when the frame rate reaches 24 fps, people would regard the static image flow as the smooth dynamic video. As a result, we set the frame rate of the LED matrix to 30fps, letting the visitor have a better visual feeling.
— Design —
We used the aluminum alloy to build up the frame, reducing the weight of the installation and thus enabling the robotic arm to lift it. The dark gray acrylic plate is used to soften the glow. Besides, we designed the homemade socket which makes it easier for replacing the LED bulb which not works.
— Interactive choreography —
— Choreography —
After setting up the installation and connecting it with the robotic arm, we invited our dancer, Fang Su, to dance with it. Cooperating with the dancer, the installation worked as an interface to let her dancing with the digital version of herself on the same stage.
— Exhibition —
The installation was exhibited at the JoinUs Co-working Space. During the opening ceremony of the exhibition, we introduced our work to visitors from all walks of life. After the ceremony, some professional dancers and some exhibition planners showed their cooperation intentions.
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Instructors: Gang Song, Sen Dai
Teammates: Tianjian Li, Qi Liu
Contribution: Processing program design, Arduino program design, circuit board design, Kinect calibration, assembly of the installation
Location: School of Architecture, SCUT, Guangzhou, China
Duration: Sep, 2016 - Dec, 2016
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Exhibition: The Reinterpretation of Robot Arm
JoinUs Co-working Space, Guangzhou, December 2016 - January 2017
- Project: Interactive Choreography (Exhibition of the Installation)
