Abstracts and Biographies
Minoru Asada
Abstract
This article presents the upper-torso design issue of Affeto who can physically interact with humans, which biases the perception of affinity beyond the uncanny valley effect. First, we review the effect and hypothesize that the experience of physical interaction with Affetto decreases the effect. Then, the reality of physical existence is argued with existing platforms. Next, the design concept and a very preliminary experiment are shown. Finally, future issues are given.Biography
Minoru Asada has been a Professor at the Department of Adaptive Machine Systems at Osaka University (Suita, Japan) since 1997. Also, in 1986 and 1987, Mr. Asada was a visiting researcher at the Center for Automation Research, University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland). From 2002 to 2008, Professor Asada has served as President of the International RoboCup Federation. In 2012, The Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) named Professor Asada to serve as Research Leader for the Specially Promoted Research Project (Tokusui) on Constructive Developmental Science Based on Understanding the Process From Neuro-Dynamics to Social Interaction. Minoru Asada received his B.E. (1977), M.E. (1979), and Ph.D. (1982) in Control Engineering from Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
Nikolaus Correll
Abstract
This paper describes our recent work “Swarm Wall”, an aural and visual robotic installation driven exclusively by distributed control. Each actuator consists of a servo motor sweeping a helical plastic spring over a surface of vertical PVC pipes of different length and diameter, creating a noticeable aural effect. The position and velocity of the servo motor is calculated locally to be a weighted sum of those in its 4-neighborhood, inspired by the adjustment of heading in flocking and herding in animals. In addition, each column of the installation is equipped with an ultrasound sensor detecting spectators whose presence alters parameters in the dynamical equations driving the system. As the individual nodes are networked, these interactions percolate into other parts of the wall, engaging the audience into playful interaction with a life-like, unpredictable organism. In combination with pre-programmed cycles of activity and rest, the behavior of the “Swarm Wall” has been systematically attributed with human moods ranging from humorous and happy to tired and angry by the audience.Biography
Nikolaus Correll is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He obtained a PhD in Computer Science from EPFL and spent two years as post-doc at MIT CSAIL. Nikolaus research interest are large-scale distributed robotic systems ranging from robotic swarms for automated gardening to smart materials that embody sensing, computation and actuation.
Raffaello D'Andrea
Abstract
Biography
Spanning academics, business and the arts, Raffaello D'Andrea’s career is built on his ability to bridge theory and practice: He is Professor of Dynamic Systems and Control at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, where his research redefines what autonomous systems are capable of. He is also co-founder of Kiva Systems (recently acquired by Amazon), a robotics and logistics company that develops and deploys intelligent automated warehouse systems. He has exhibited his dynamic works at various international venues, including the Venice Biennale, Ars Electronica, the Smithsonian, and the Spoleto Festival. In addition, his work is in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada (Robotic Chair, Table), the FRAC Centre in France (Flight Assembled Architecture), and the Heinz Nixdorf Museum in Germany (Blind Juggler).Louis-Philippe Demers
Abstract
Biography
Louis-Philippe Demers makes large-scale installations and performances. His projects can be found in theatre, opera, subway stations, art museums, science museums, music events and trade shows. Over the past two decades, he participated in more than seventy artistic and stage productions and has built more than 300 machines. Demers’ works have been featured at major venues such as Theatre de la Ville, Lille 2004, Expo 1992 and 2000, Sonambiente, ISEA, Siggraph and Sonar. He received four mentions and one distinction at Ars Electronica, the first prize of Vida 2.0, a mention for the Tiller Girls at Vida 12.0, a recommendation at the Japan Media Arts Festival, the Interactive prize for Lightforms 98 and six prizes for Devolution including two Helpmann Awards. Demers was Professor of Digital Media and Exhibit Design/Scenography at the Hochschule fuer Gestaltung Karlsruhe, affiliated to the world renowned Zentrum fuer Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM, Germany). Since he joined the Interaction and Entertainment Research Centre and the newly founded School of Art, Design and Media at the Nanyang Technological University. www.processing-plant.com
Masaki Fujihata
Abstract
Biography
Masaki Fujihata is one of the pioneers of Japanese new media art, beginning his career working in video and digital imaging in the early 80s. As an early practitioner of the application of new technologies to the process of artmaking, he was one of the first artists to use stereolithography, a technique in which a laser polymerizes a liquid resin as it sweeps its surface. He also created the worlds smallest sculptures by using the manufacturing techniques for integrated circuits (at 10m and 100m, these works are visible only with an electron microscope). However, he is most recognized for his sophisticated interactive network installations and his primary concern has been to employ multimedia technology in order to examine the possibilities for communication within virtual spaces. His interactive works include Removable Reality (1992), which used an infrared cordless phone, and Impressing Velocity (1994), in which he used a laptop computer equipped with GPS to digitally map Mount Fuji, making it available for viewers to explore interactively. He believes that "reality does not conflict with virtuality: it is the complementary aspect of a similar space of life." Fujihata has exhibited extensively throughout Japan and will be participating in the upcoming Yokohama Triennale. Internationally, he has exhibited at the 1983, 1984, 1996, and 2000 Siggraph conferences (USA), Ars Electronica (Linz), DEAF (Rotterdam), "CyberForum" ( Lisbon), VEAF (Vancouver) and his work is part of the permanent collection of the ZKM (Karlsruhe). (Source: http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/artist/fujihata/biography/)
Kyle Gilpin
Abstract
Biography
Kyle Gilpin is a post-doc in the Distributed Robotics Laboratory at MIT. Kyle works to improve communication and control in large distributed robotic systems. His past projects include 1cm robotic modules capable of autonomous duplication, ultra-wideband radios, real-time image processing systems, reconfigurable sensor nodes, chain robots with compliant actuators, and a collection of 1.7in cubes capable of shape formation through self-disassembly.
Ken Goldberg
Abstract
Biography
Ken Goldberg is an artist, engineer, and Craigslist Distinguished Professor of New Media at UC Berkeley. His artwork has been exhibited at Ars Electronica, ZKM, Centre Pompidou, ICC Biennale, Kwangju Biennale, Artists Space, The Kitchen, and the Whitney Biennial.
Guy Hoffman
Abstract
Biography
Guy Hoffman is Assistant Professor at the School of Communication of IDC Herzliya, and co-director of the IDC Media Innovation Lab. Before, he was a research fellow at Georgia Tech and MIT. Hoffman holds a Ph.D from MIT in the field of human-robot interaction, and an M.Sc. in Computer Science from Tel Aviv University. He also studied animation at Parsons School of Design. His research deals with human-robot interaction and collaboration, embodied cognition for robots, nonverbal communication in HRI, entertainment, theater, and musical performance robotics, and non-humanoid robot design. Among others, Hoffman developed the world's first human-robot theater performance, as well as the first real-time improvising human-robot Jazz duet. Hoffman designed several non-humanoid robots, including a robotic desk lamp, "AUR", which won the IEEE International Robot Design Competition. His academic awards include a 2010 Best Paper award at ICRA, and Best Paper awards at HRI and RO-MAN in 2006, 2007, and 2008. He was animation and software lead on the World Expo Digital Water Pavilion, one of TIME magazine's "Best Inventions of the Year", and was recently commissioned for the title-page illustration of the New York Times “Week in Review”. His research and design work was covered in the international press, including CNN, the BBC, The New York Times, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Haaretz, Science, the New Scientist, PBS, NPR, and even Comedy Central. In both 2010 and 2012, he was selected as one of Israel's most promising researchers under forty.
Ian Ingram
Abstract
Biography
Ian Ingram is a Los Angeles-based maker of behavioral sculpture who is interested in the manmade object's future as a willful entity and the nature of communication. He builds mechatronic and robotic systems that borrow facets from animal morphology and behavior, from the shapes and movements of machines, and from our stories about animals. These systems are often intended to cohabitate and interact with animals in the wild. Ingram has exhibited his work internationally, including at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA; PLATFORM3 in Munich, Germany; the Museum of Modern Art of Toluca, Mexico; Art Chicago; the Yada Gallery in Nagoya, Japan; Axiom Gallery in Boston, MA; Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, CA; Purdue University; Hasbro Headquarters; eyelevelgallery in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and in Popular Science Magazine. His sculptures are in the collections of the Carnegie Science Center and the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. Ingram has a BS and MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University.
Hiroshi Ishiguro
Abstract
Biography
Hiroshi Ishiguro received a D.Eng. in systems engineering from the Osaka University, Japan in 1991. He is currently Professor of Department of Systems Innovation in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University (2009–). He is also Visiting Group Leader (2002–) of the Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories and ATR Fellow (2010–) at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute, where he previously worked as Visiting Researcher (1999–2002). He was previously Research Associate (1992–1994) in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University and Associate Professor (1998–2000) in the Department of Social Informatics at Kyoto University. He was also Visiting Scholar (1998–1999) at the University of California, San Diego, USA. He was Associate Professor (2000–2001) and Professor (2001–2002) in the Department of Computer and Communication Sciences at Wakayama University. He then moved to Department of Adaptive Machine Systems in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University as a Professor (2002-2009). His research interests include distributed sensor systems, interactive robotics, and android science.
Heather Knight
Abstract
Biography
Heather Knight is currently conducting her doctoral research at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute and running Marilyn Monrobot in NYC, which features comedy performances by Data the Robot and organizes the annual Robot Film Festival and Cyborg Cabaret. She was named to the 2011 Forbes List for 30 under 30 in Science. Her work also includes: robotics and instrumentation at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, interactive installations with Syyn Labs (including the award winning "This too shall pass" Rube Goldberg Machine music video with OK GO), field applications and sensor design at Aldebaran Robotics, and she is an alumnus from the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab.
Todd D. Murphey
Abstract
Biography
Todd Murphey is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern University. His research interests include computational methods for mechanics and optimal control, physical networks, and information theory in physical systems. His work on robotic marionettes has been featured at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Bringing ordinary objects and materials to life through motion has fascinated people for millennia, and the art of puppetry is a five thousand year old tradition dedicated entirely to that goal. The sculptor Pygmalion fell in love with a statue he carved, and through the divine power of the goddess Venus the statue was brought to life. Marionettes are of particular interest because they require a balance between the aesthetic goals of the puppeteer and physics of the puppet itself-an arrangement similar to many engineered systems. A puppet's resistance to control results in motions that avoid the rigid, mechanical look often found in animatronics, favoring creative expression over precise reproduction. This leaves open the question of whether puppets can be programmed to perform autonomously, or whether human operation remains essential to their theatrical value.
Chang Geun Oh
Abstract
Biography
Chang Geun Oh is an Adjunct Professor for Art Technology at Graduate School of Media, Sogang University in Seoul. He works in the field of interactive media art and robotic art. Currently he is a PhD candidate at the Dynamic Robotics Lab, GSCST, Seoul National University, Korea. He also completed a Postgraduate Course in Media Art at the Karlsruhe University for Arts & Design, Germany and his Bachelor and Masters degrees of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Seoul National University. He has exhibited at various galleries in Seoul and Europe, with over fifty invited exhibitions.
Pericle Salvini
Abstract
Biography
Pericle Salvini Pericle Salvini graduated in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the University of Pisa in 2000. In 2005, he completed a Master of Research degree in Theatre Studies at Lancaster University (UK). In 2008, he received his PhD in Biorobotics Science and Engineering from IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Italy). He is currently with the BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy. His main research interests are in the fields of Human-Robot Interaction (design, human factor and social acceptance of robots), and technoethics (legal and ethical implications of robotics research and applications). He is also involved in activities concerning the use of robots in education and art. He is currently co-chair of the HRI TC of IEEE (www. ) and project manager of the RoboLaw project (www.robolaw.eu), and he is collaborating in the Roborama project (www.roborama.it).
Reid Simmons
Abstract
Biography
Reid Simmons is Research Professor and Associate Director for Education of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. He earned his MS and PhD degrees from MIT in the field of Artificial Intelligence. His current research focuses on reliable autonomous robots, human-robot social interaction, coordination of multiple heterogeneous robots, robotic assembly, robot navigation, and probabilistic planning and reasoning. Over the years, Dr. Simmons has been involved in the development of over a dozen autonomous robot systems, including several robotic characters developed in conjunction with the school of drama: a robot receptionist, two chatbots housed in science museums, and a game-playing robot.
Stelarc
Abstract
Biography
Stelarc is an Australian artist who has used prosthetics, robotics, VR systems, the Internet and biotechnology to explore alternate, intimate and involuntary interfaces with the body. He is interested in the evolutionary architecture of the body and possible ways of redesigning the human augmented by implants and exoskeletons. His earlier work includes making 3 films of the inside of his body, amplifying body signals (such as brainwaves, muscles, bloodflow, heartbeat) and 25 body suspensions with hooks into the skin. Some of his projects include the THIRD HAND, VIRTUAL ARM, STOMACH SCULPTURE, EXOSKELTON, EXTENDED ARM, PROSTHETIC HEAD, MUSCLE MACHINE, PARTIAL HEAD and WALKING HEAD. He is surgically constructing and stem cell growing an EXTRA EAR on his arm that will be internet enabled, making it a publicly accessible acoustical organ for people in other places. In 1997 he was appointed Honorary Professor of Art and Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2003 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Monash University. In 2010 he was awarded the Hybrid Arts prize at Ars Electronica and has also a Special Projects Grant by the Australia Council. He is currently Chair in Performance Art at Brunel University London. His artwork is represented by SCOTT LIVESEY GALLERIES in Melbourne.
Patrick Tresset