Evoking agency: Attention model and behavior control in a robotic art installation

Robotic embodiments of artificial agents seem to reinstate a body-mind dualism as consequence of their technical implementation, but could this supposition be a misconception? The authors present their artistic, scientific and engineering work on a robotic installation, the Articulated Head, and its perception-action control system, the Thinking Head Attention Model and Behavioral System (THAMBS). The authors propose that agency emerges from the interplay of the robot’s behavior and the environment and that, in the system’s interaction with humans, it is to the same degree attributed to the robot as it is grounded in the robot’s actions: Agency cannot be instilled; it needs to be evoked

From Robot Arm to Intentional Agent: the Articulated Head

Robot arms have come a long way from the humble beginnings of the first Unimate robot at a General Motors plant installed to unload parts from a die-casting machine to the flexible and versatile tool ubiquitous and indispensable in many fields of industrial production nowadays. The other chapters of this book attest to the progress in the field and the plenitude of applications of robot arms. It is still fair, however, to say that currently industrial robot arms are primarily applied in continuously repeated manufacturing task for which they are pre-programmed. They are known for their precision and reliability but in general use only limited sensory input and the changes in the execution of their task due to varying environmental factors are minimal. If one was to compare a robot arm with an animal, even a very simple one, this property of robot arm applications would immediately stand out as one of the most striking differences. Living organisms must sense changes in the environment that are crucial to their survival and must have some flexibility to adjust their behaviour. In most robot arm contexts, such a comparison is currently at best of academic interest, though it might gain relevance very quickly in the future if robot arms are to be used to assist humans to a larger extend than at present. If robot arms will work in close proximity with and directly supporting humans in accomplishing a task, it becomes inevitable for the control system of the robot to have far reaching situational awareness and the capability to adjust its ‘behaviour’ according to the acquired situational information. In addition, robot perception and action have to conform a large degree to the expectations of the human co-worker

A novel design process of low cost 3D printed ambidextrous finger designed for an ambidextrous robotic hand

This paper presents the novel mechanical design of an ambidextrous finger specifically designed for an ambidextrous anthropomorphic robotic hand actuated by pneumatic artificial muscles. The ambidextrous nature of design allows fingers to perform both left and right hand movements. The aim of our design is to reduce the number of actuators, increase the range of movements with best possible range ideally greater than a common human finger. Four prototypes are discussed in this paper; first prototype is focused on the choice of material and to consider the possible ways to reduce friction. Second prototype is designed to investigate the tendons routing configurations. Aim of third and fourth prototype is to improve the overall performance and to maximize the grasping force. Finally, a unified design (Final design) is presented in great detail. Comparison of all prototypes is done from different angles to evaluate the best design. The kinematic features of intermediate mode have been analysed to optimize both the flexibility and the robustness of the system, as well as to minimize the number of pneumatic muscles. The final design of an ambidextrous finger has developed, tested and 3D printed

Design and development of Low cost 3D printed ambidextrous robotic hand driven by pneumatic muscles

This paper presents the mechanical design and development process of an ambidextrous robot hand driven by pneumatic muscles. The ambidextrous hand is capable of performing both right hand and left hand movements. In addition to ambidextrous movements, hand offers a range twice larger than common fingers. The mechanical design of an ambidextrous robot has been investigated in a way to reduce maximum possible number of actuators. Actuated by only 18 pneumatic muscles, the ambidextrous hand has a total of 13 degrees of freedom which permit to imitate equally a hand of each side. The ambidextrous hand is 3D printed after carefully analyzing the material, tendon routing, kinematic performance and overall design parameters. The main application areas of this project are in rehabilitation and physiotherapy after strokes and management of phantom pain for amputees by controlling the robotic prosthesis remotely via internet and social media interface. The ambidextrous feature of the robotic hand allows completing the tele-rehabilitation for both left and right hands using one robotic device

Exoskeleton

Image of Exoskeleton performance at the STRP Biennual in Eindhoven, Netherland

Extra Ear: Ear on Arm

Projection showing the surgicla process of Stelar having an ear-shaped device implanted on his forearm

“Propel” and “ReWired / ReMixed” performances, video installation, Exhibited at: Beijing Media Art Biennale: Ethics of Technology, Beijing Design Week 2016, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, 25 September – 30 October, 2016

Human bodies are increasingly augmented by machines and computational systems, extending, moving and operating in physical and virtual environments. We are accelerated by our machines and hyper-sensitized by our instruments. The video installation re-presented two recent live-performance works (Propel (2015) and ReWired/ReMixed (2016)) at an international exhibition exploring and interogating the ethics of contemporary technologies and design