Aki say: Robot

Our love affair with Robots is nothing new. Our imagination has been filled with imagery, from the nightmarish Hal (in 2001: A Space Odyssey) to the cuteness of R2-D2 (in Star Wars). Just a few years ago, all these ideas seemed to be in a very distant future. In spite of the robotic toys, vacuum cleaners and the odd lawn mower, the idea of a human-like robot was a pipe dream until now. Geminoid F is a female android (a robot resembling a human being) designed by Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka university. It is a frightening demonstration of how human a machine can be. It (or perhaps we should call it ’she’) can smile, frown, speak and react to touch…although it cannot operate on its own—yet!

The dictionary simply defines a robot as a machine that imitates human behaviour. We are constantly in touch with robots and robotics. A recent supermarket revolution of self service islands is a good example of how these machines are literally replacing humans. Not the types of robots we are accustomed to seeing in the movies, but nevertheless they will bark orders at you, and are quick to remind you if you forgot to place the scanned banana into your plastic bag. Another recent phenomena spreading in the hotel business can be seen in the Omena Hotel chain of Finland. This hotel simply has no staff at all. All room reservations are done online, and you are assigned a room number and pin code to use at the hotel front door and your room door in order to gain access—the only check-in greeting you will receive will be a message on a TV screen. There are also numerous concepts being investigated to connect human experience with robotics. One such idea is by a young Norwegian graduate, Hans Alexander Huseklepp who’s Immaculate robotic arm connects to the central nervous system. The arm is also one of the first prosthetic devices that is a designer product.

In the art world we have seen some interesting robot work, for example Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Mural (2003), currently on display in Rome’s MAXXI museum. That art piece consists of a remote control drill that slowly drills holes into the pristine museum wall, randomly disturbing the silence of the museum by imitating the ‘human-installing-artwork’ process. Another recent installation by Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram in London’s Trafalgar Square also linked the human experience with robots. The installation allowed the public to type a message that would be transmitted by the light panels attached to the robotics arms, then broadcast via the internet.

One of the most interesting ideas involving robots is a lyrical art project by Gilberto Esparza (Mexico) entitled Nomadic Plants. In this project he has designed a self-sufficient robot that collects energy from its environment employing a kind of robot-plant symbiosis. The idea is for the robot to visit hostile environments and recycle waste. It can drink from contaminated rivers and turn the liquid into usable food for the plant, which in turn produces energy for the robot to operate. Gilberto Esparza has not only created something beneficial for the environment, but perhaps a wonderful new life form.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q4qwLknKag

http://www.omenahotels.com/en/

http://dsrny.com/projects/Mural/MURAL-DRILL.mov

http://www.kramweisshaar.com/projects/outrace.html

http://www.coroflot.com/hhuseklepp/Immaculate/1

http://gilbertoesparza.blogspot.com/