Beats and Bots
The ‘Dancing Bots’ blog post by Sanne shows how artificial creatures can engage in the human practice of dance. While dancing for humans may seem simple and natural, it has some complex elements that might be hard for robots to adapt to. Especially, the sense of rhythm humans naturally have is an interesting element of creatureness. This is what inspired me the most about the dancing blog post. It showed examples such as the playful dancing cactus toy, illustrating how even non-humanoid forms can evoke a sense of rhythm and movement. Because this artificial creature most likely only has one dance in his repertoire, I was interested in robots that can naturally dance on the beat of whatever music is played or even adapt their dance to the genre or feeling of the song. The other example of the blog post, the robot from Boston Dynamics, seems to be able to at least dance more rhythmically correct to the music. I assume this choreography is not naturally improvised, making it unclear whether the robot is able to perform a dance that suits the song being played.
Therefore, building upon Sanne’s blog post, I came up with an idea for a hypothetical work that delves deeper into the concept of a sense of rhythm in artificial creatures to be able to naturally synchronize with any music. This work would take the form of an interactive installation and in centered around the artificial creature ‘Synchy’.
The installation invites visitors into a multi-sensory experience where they can interact with Synchy through music and dance. Its physical appearance is an abstract structure that evokes a sense of wonder and curiosity in visitors. The creature consists of a central hub from which tendrils extend outward in all directions, almost resembling the branches of a tree. The surface of the sculpture shimmers and reflects the ambient light in the environment, creating a mesmerizing experience. As visitors interact with the sculpture, Synchy dances with them by moving its tendrils that respond dynamically to the rhythms of the sound. With each note played or beat struck, the sculpture adapts his dance to the feeling of the music. Despite its non-humanoid form, the sound sculpture gives off a sense of personality by responding to the stimuli presented to it. The music played in the environment can at all times be adjusted by visitors to influence the behaviour of the creature. This shows the natural sense of rhythm Synchy possesses and creates an interactive experience for visitors.
