First Encounters with Robots Through Embodied Observation, Imagined Narrative, and Choreography

Citation: A. LaViers. “First Encounters with Robots Through Embodied Observation, Imagined Narrative, and Choreography.” Materializing Digital Futures: Touch, Movement, Sound and Vision. T. Cinque and J. B. Vincent (Eds). 169-185. 2022.

Abstract: This chapter reports on using shared themes between several artistic projects to design creative and empowering introductions to robots in the form of public-facing outreach. These experiences were part of theatrical productions leveraged in academic research efforts that involved exposing public audiences to robots. These exposures were the first time many participants had seen a robot in real life – and for many more their first creative experience with the devices. The experiences shared the usage of embodied observation, whereby participants moved their own bodies to understand the movement of robots, imagined narrative, whereby participants used their own creativity to ascribe or describe the potential behavior and applications of robots, and choreography, whereby participants made choices about movement during the engagement. These themes are a departure from typical presentations that highlight specific elements and capabilities – functions – of robots, which are often presented inside the frame of measures whereby machines outperform humans: forces, torques, velocities, precision, and repeatability. Instead, this work uses an expressive frame for providing participants experiences with robots, empowering them to notice some of the short comings of robots: simplistic anatomy, brittle inflexibility and rigidity, and rote repetitive action. Projects reviewed include three performance pieces “Time to Compile”, “A Machine”, and “Babyface” that leveraged interactive installations and informed the design of choreography-based outreach activities in which participants create their own robotic media.