humanoid blanket

2015 tagged with: interaction design filed under:

demonstrating how robots can be humanoid in behaviour, and not just in appearance. a blanket looks nothing like a person, and yet, it can be expressive and win our trust by behaving like a person would.

in an age of ever-increasing loneliness, humanoid robots may help reduce anxiety, alleviate stress, communicate safety, or just help lonely people sleep better. they may or may not look like people, but if they want to win our trust and be welcomed in our private spaces, they will certainly need to behave as we do.

work: video; and simple prototype (fabric, mdf, servo-motors, projection, arduino).
with: ziyang zhang, ju hong, timothy forge, woo jung jung, lauren jin.
and with thanks to: anna unger.
in response to a brief set by the science museum, london.

showcased in uk robotics week in summer, 2016.