Robodada

2020 – now

An open-source tool kit to map facial expressions
to the body language of a robot.

https://github.com/HybridThingsLab/robodada

Team:

Andreas Muxel
Elias Naphausen
Andreas Kraus
Fabian Pitzer

In our coexistence with robots we ascribe almost human qualities, emotions and liveliness to our technical counterpart. How might these things be designed if they evolve from passive tools to proactive and even social things? How can we shape their "thingness" beyond naïve human imitation to overcome an anthropomorphic design approach? And how does the process of designing the body and movement of a machine change our relationship to it?

ROBODADA is an open-source tool kit and can be used in different workshop formats. A web-based interface allows you to move a two-axis robot, record different movement patterns, and assign them to face expressions. Activating your webcam, ROBODADA interpret your facial expressions (not emotions) based on a pre-trained model and activates the robot's recorded movement.

In different workshop formats small robots can be built based on the ROBODADA tool kit using simple materials and tools such as cardboard, fabric, straws, sticks, rubber bands, a cutter and adhesive tape. Participants engage in experimental and playful activities to speculate on future robotic things and our relationship with them.

Publications

Muxel, A., & Naphausen, E. (2020). ROBODADA: speed-dating with (un)friendly robots. In Proceedings of the First Conference on Design with Artificial Intelligence (pp. 112-127). Berlin, Germany.