DESIGN FUTURES

Theo Jansen - Kinetic Sculptor

Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist and has been working for 16 years to create sculptures that move on their own in eerily lifelike ways. Each generation of his "Strandbeests" is subject to the forces of evolution, with successful forms moving forward into new designs. Jansen's vision and long-term commitment to his wooden menagerie is as fascinating to observe as the beasts themselves.
More info: http://www.strandbeest.com/index.html

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Priscilla Bracks and Gavin Sade - eMeuraSuperba, Robotic Sculpture 2009

The head of the sculpted bird moves up and down and from side to side, using quirky head movements. The sculpture is equipped with facial recognition and tracking software to directs these movements. A sense of intelligence results from these two simple elements, as the bird appears to recognise faces, at times looking directly into ones eyes. This behaviour becomes especially pronounced when it sees people wearing colourful clothing. Other behaviours include becoming nervous around large groups of people, or distant and moody when ignored. The impact of these characteristics is endearing. We have observed people showing different coloured objects to illicit different plumage patterns. Many also try to touch, stroke or even kiss the bird.

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Festo - AquaJelly, Jellyfish Robot 2008

Festo has created the AquaJelly as part of its ongoing research programme into advanced automation. AquaJelly is an artificial autonomous jellyfish in water, a self-controlling system which emulates swarming behaviour. AquaJelly consists of a translucent hemisphere and eight tentacles for propulsion. At the centre of the AquaJelly is a watertight laser-sintered body. It houses a central electric motor, the two lithium-ion polymer batteries, the recharging control unit and the servo motors for the swash plate. Each AquaJelly is able to sense various aspects of its environment and to function completely autonomously, but is also endowed with communicative faculties that enable it to co-operate with other members of the group, and thereby behave as a system with a higher order of development.

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Antoine Schmitt & Jean-Jacques Birgé - Nabaz'mob, Networked Robotic Sound Performance 2006

100 Nabaztag smart rabbits play together an opera specially composed by Antoine Schmitt et Jean-Jacques Birgé. Inviting John Cage, Steve Reich, Conlon Nancarrow and György Ligeti, this musical and choreographic score in three movements, transmitted via wi-fi, plays on the tension between the orchestral ensemble and the individual voices to create a strong and involved showpiece.

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ART+COM - Kinetic Sculpture, BMW Museum Munich 2008

The Kinetic Sculpture is a metaphorical translation of the process of form-finding in art and design. 714 metal spheres, hanging from thin steel wires attached to individually-controlled stepper motors and covering the area of six square meters, animate a seven minute long mechatronic narrative. In the beginning, moving chaotically, then evolving to several competing forms that eventually resolve to the finished object, the Kinetic Sculpture creates an artistic visualisation of the process of form-finding in different variations.

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Ea Borre - Paper Machines, Kinetic Sculpture 2009

Paper machine by Ea Borre ( Danish artist) for the cover art of Voks "Astra & Knyst" LP Dekorder 033.

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Haruki Nakamura - Gears Heart 2005

Papercraft sculpture. The work of paper engineer Haruki Nakamura, it was actually submitted to an art contest back in 2005.

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Arthur Ganson: Cory's Yellow Chair, Kinetic Sculpture 1997

"Corys Yellow Chair", is like a manifested puzzle, with its exploding and reassembling miniature chair. This dazzling piece performs its own visual concept, as tiny gears and chains transform the chair into a starburst pattern, by tumbling six tiny parts outward, then repeatedly snapping them back into perfect form. Ganson recognizes the comic yet poignant quality of chairs.

Arthur Ganson: Machines and the Breath of Time's Lecture: http://fora.tv/2009/09/14/Arthur_Ganson_Machines_and_the_Breath_of_Time

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Richard Wilson - Turning the Place Over, Kinetic Architectural Sculpture 2007

'Turning the Place Over' (initial sculpture was made in 2000) consists of an 8 metres diameter ovoid cut from the façade of a building and made to oscillate in three dimensions. The revolving façade rests on a specially designed giant rotator, usually used in the shipping and nuclear industries, and acts as a huge opening and closing 'window', offering recurrent glimpses of the interior during its constant cycle during daylight hours.

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Chico McMurtrie & Ric Sayre - Tumbling Man, Humanoid Pneumatic Robot, 1991-92

The "Tumbling Man" is a humanoid pneumatic robot that not only tumbles, but with the aid and cooperation of two participants can attain contorted poses,sit up, and play his body as a percussion instrument. The uncertain gestures of the robot possess a convincing anthropomorphic quality, creating empathy within the participant and viewer, as the robot appears to be like a new-born primitive.
The computer in the

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Kraftwerk - The Robots, Electronic Music Performance 2009 (original 1978)

Album: The Man-Machine (Die Mensch-Maschine) 1978 by Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos
Kraftwerk (In English, power station) is an electronic band founded in 1970 in Düsseldorf, Germany. They pioneered electronic music in the 1970s and are considered one of the most important and influential bands of their genre-often described as the godfathers of electronic music.

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Ken Rinaldo - Augmented Fish Reality 2004

'Augmented Fish Reality is an interactive installation of five rolling robotic fish-bowl sculptures designed to explore interspecies and transpecies communication.
These sculptures allow Siamese Fighting fish (Betta Splendons) to use intelligent hardware and software to move their robotic bowls - under their control. Siamese fighting fish have excellent eyes which allow them to see outside the water. They have color vision and seem to like the color yellow.

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Ken Rinaldo - Autopoiesis, Interactive Robotic Sculptures

Autopoiesis is an artificial life robotic series of fifteen musical and robotic sculptures that interact with the public and modify their behaviors based on the both the presences of the participants in the exhibition and the communication between each separate sculpture.

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Ken Rinaldo - Autotelematic Spider Bots 2006

Artificial Life Robotic Sculpture Series
The Autotelematic Spider Bots 2006, is a new artificial life robotic installation. It consists of 10 spider-like sculptures that interact with the public in real-time and self-modify their behaviors, based on their interaction with the viewer, themselves, their environment and their food source.

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Chico MacMurtrie: Sixteen Birds, Robot Sculptures 2006

The first multi-sculpture installation using ARW's new Inflatable Bodies technology, 16 Birds, is a performative installation that contemplates the life cycle through a study of movement, image, scale, and sound. It consists of 16 large, white fabric shapes that recall the simplest line drawing of a bird, hanging limp and lifeless from the ceiling at eye level. As viewers enter the room, the tapered, joined cone-shapes gradually inflate with air, lengthen and take form, eventually reaching out with a graceful wingspan, robust with life.

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Artform No. 1 by artist Mark Ho

The initial model -- bronze and stainless steel, like the one shown here -- was 6 years in the making. The figure is fully articulated, stands 17 inches high, weighs in at 16 lbs, and is made up of over 500 parts. This is a limited edition run of 25. Each Artform No. 1 figure comes with a clever magnetic base which can be activated and de-activated, allowing you to pose and "freeze" the sculpture into any shape the human form is capable of. See more animations and photographs of this amazing metal figure at ZOHO ARTFORMS web site.

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