Embedded Files
A project by Alberto Dorsi and Richard van 't Hof.
Selected for Highlight Delft 2026
As a final project, we created a robot that addresses the theme of homelessness, focusing specifically on the sense of struggle it entails. The need for shelter and protection is an innate part of being a living creature. Unlike robots, which do not consciously experience such needs, humans uniquely suffer from the absence of a home due to how our society is built and must struggle to survive under these conditions. This vulnerability, and the emotional and physical hardship that comes with it, is therefore an experience exclusive to human beings.
In our creation, we aimed to portray this struggle by designing a battered and worn robot with a disheveled cardboard shell. This shell references the cardboard boxes that homeless people are often portrayed as living in. Additionally, the robot pulls a container filled with cans and plastic bottles, which can be exchanged for deposit money (“statiegeld”). For the robot, this money represents the means to obtain a battery charge—its equivalent of food—highlighting the parallel between human survival needs and those of a machine.
Embodying Marginalization
Embodying Marginalization
We have become so accustomed to the presence of homeless people on the streets that they almost feel invisible within the urban landscape. How does our perception of homelessness change when it is embodied by a robot? Our approach involved identifying characteristic traits of homelessness and adapting them to a non-personified context to test social boundaries.
The diverse reactions of the audience, from those who caressed Herbert to those gave him cans, sparked new intriguing perspectives. The history of robotics has long pursued the idea of technology as self-sufficient: an alter ego ideally representing an enhanced version of humanity. What if, for once, the robot represented the fringes of society? What if it was the one needing our help, rather than us merely relying on its algorithmically designed functionality? Herbert is selfish enough to demand us new cans for his charge, offering absolutely nothing in return. Ultimately, Herbert forces us to confront a paradox: we find it easier to acknowledge the needs and agency of a machine than the humanity of those we pass every day.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse