D-MARC

Anneli ; a wearable robot.

A project in progress by laura beloff and niki passath 2011 > -current state of the project and further projections.

STARTING POINT and CONTEXT.

Anneli is compilation of 1) a human whose 2) jacket provides a habitat for 3) a (wearable) robot. These three components form a unified entity, which is founded on the created and evolving relations between these components. The project deals with an evolving relationship between a non-human and a human; an artificial creature and a human “host”.

Humans have a long-term fascination with artificially constructed things that seem to be alive and/or have human-like traits. Our history has many infamous examples and attempts to build “living” things. For example, the 18^th century inventor Jacques de Vaucanson is famous for his mechanical automatons The Flute Player and The Digesting Duck, which had hundreds of moving parts. The Duck could flap its wings, drink water, digest a grain and defecate. A fascinating fact, that this kind of artificial lifelikeness through mechanical constructs almost vanished by the end of the 18th century due to the redirected interests of inventor-engineers to work on the new development of industrial machinery, such as the automated loom. However, this tendency for the commercialization of industrial machinery had its counter part in the playful inventions that evolved e.g. optical illusions, visual effects or other “magical” qualities; small-scale inventions that were commonly categorized under “toys”.

Currently, the legacy of the interests in lifelike artifacts is visible e.g. on the area of robotics and computer sciences. The developments in AL (artificial life) and AI (artificial intelligence) have enabled a creation of increasingly sophisticated applications and robots that are developed in large varieties for different purposes; from automated industrial robots to caretaker robots and to robotic exoskeletons designed to aid humans in physically straining tasks. One of the recent developments is a geminoid, which is a robotic human-twin made to look like its "master" who can control and speak through the robot-twin remotely.

During the last decades it has become obvious that robots are here to stay, and we are looking at future infused with robots and life merged with technology.

The project  “Anneli” emphasizes the connection between the human body and the robotic; it forms a symbiotic nexus between human body and clothes as the second skin that also forms the landscape and the habitat for the robot. The robot is acting and reacting on this surface, which is simultaneously a border and a connection between the human and the machine.

Interests of two artists

The project is initiated as collaboration between two artists: Laura Beloff and Niki Passath.

Beloff’s artistic production during the last years has been primarily focused on technologically enhanced wearable- and mobile–structures and on techno-organic compilations, which have been often realized as wearable or portable artifacts. She is specifically interested in the connections and formed relations between technology and human within hybrid environment (merger of physical and networked space).

In the Anneli-project the interest is in the relation between the “user” (jacket wearer) and the independent robot. Question is; if the creature will be experienced as “the other”, as semi-autonomous part of the user, as a pet, as a servant of the human, or can it have another meaning?

Passath’s work and artistic production has been engaged in the sculptural conditions of robots and the idea of artificial intelligence, often resulting in robotic and evolving structures. In his works the technologically constructed artifact takes an independent role and evolves according to its rules.

In the Anneli-project the focus is in finding a method to create a robotic motion with the least amount of energy possible. The lifelikeness, in Passath’s understanding, is created by a combination of freedom of mechanical artifacts through mistakes and errors combined with randomness. This is achieved through a special method of construction of a mechanical body and programming of the mind, which allows mistakes and randomness, to create unpredictable robotic behavior.

On wearability and on robots

Wearable technology suggests that humans and our environment will be increasingly merged with (human-invented) technology in the future.

Commonly, in wearable technology projects the focus is in the user and his abilities that are extended. Similarly, robots are commonly created and used to fulfill some specified tasks; be it creating automobiles or defusing of landmines or acting as a weapon. However, in this project the robot is created as an autonomous creature, which acts by itself without any clear function or goal. The technological creature is utilizing, or invading, the user’s personal area in intimate proximity. The user is pushed to decide of his relation to the creature; if he accepts it and on what extent? Does he see it as a part of him and his world, as an external other, or are there possibilities to develop new kinds of relations in this situation?

Additionally, the project treats wearable technology from an unusual point of view: instead of typically considering it to be an aid for the user or an extension of his abilities, the user becomes a host for a parasitic creature, which needs him as living environment.

The project creates dependencies between the human host, the wearable habitat (jacket) of the robot and the robot itself. Simultaneously as the robot has to adapt its behavior and movement according to its forces, also the human has to adapt his movements to the robot’s movements to avoid possible interference between the position of the robot and human agility.

PRACTICE - problems and (anticipated) solutions or further thoughts.

Power

Currently, one of the main problems in projects dealing with independent (cordless) entities is the power consumption; battery-life, recharging and minimizing the consumption. Additionally, when dealing with wearable technology that is expected to be worn by people, the weight and size of the battery plays a major role and often directs the design choices.

Also, in this project we encountered this problem. First of all when the aim is to have a robot that moves on vertical and non-even surfaces, the robot itself needs to be extremely lightweight. At the same time the motors that make the robot moving consume fair amounts of power.

One of the goals in this project is to create a system, which gets the energy from human kinetic movements or from another renewable energy source. This energy would then be used to power the recharging station, which is constructed within the jacket and which serves as nourishment for the robot-creature.

List of things to take care:

-finding a compromise between durable / powerful batteries and their gross-weight, or finding a smart motion-creating structure that consumes less power than a typical motorized movement, or finding mechanical solutions, which produce high forces with small motors.

-finding a sticking solution for the robot on the wearable surface, which doesn’t consume a lot of power or, optimally, no power at all.

-designing an easy (and quick) recharging system that is in the line with the design and nature of the project.

-note: if the robot is added with other features (e.g. network) it will increase the power-consumption.

Weight – gravity

Like already mentioned in the paragraph above, we realized that the weight of the robot is a crucial factor in this project. This is mainly due to the vertical surface where the robot is moving. We are aiming at eliminating the most of the heavy components.

For example, the basic arduino microcontroller will be replaced by flexible and lightweight Seeeduino-version http://www.seeedstudio.com/blog/2010/06/29/seeeduino-film-maybe-the-first-arduino-board-on-fpc/

Attachment

In this project, one of the challenges is the attachment between the robot and the jacket. In other words how to create an attachment, which simultaneously gives a good hold but is also easily detachable when the robot moves.

We realized that there would be several options to do this if we would use electro-magnetic attachment. However this would consume fairly large amounts of power and require quite an extensive matrix to be constructed on the jacket.

We have also considered of having the robot attached with a kind of claws that would close and release when it moves. This requires the jacket-material to have “grabbable” surface, e.g. loops or fringes. It could also cause problems that the robot would get entangled into the structure.

Another “sticking” idea was the use of permanent neodynium magnets which create magnetic gravity over the surface of the jacket that would attach the robot to the surface. The permanent neodynium magnets could be placed on the legs or wheels or one strong magnet on the body of the robot. However with this magnetic jacket solution, the question is: Is this kind of magnetic field harmful for the human host?

All the various options are still open for experimentation. However, we decided to start the experimentation with a “passive”-system; using Velcro for the robot and having the surface of the jacket as the counter part. We have realized that with this system we need to find exactly the right combination; that the attachment is not too tight for the robot to detach and good enough to hold the lightweight robot. Some tests are done with “legged” and “wheeled” robots. http://www2.derby.ac.uk/openstudio/digital-hybridity/tags/121/

Overall construction of the robot

The idea is to have a 4-legged robot, which can run around and find its induction charging station. An evolutionary method for the form and function finding process has been chosen.

In the first experiments we used polystyrene as basic material for the mechanical parts and the body. Because of the surface of the upper body, which is the habitat of the robot, a certain size of the robot must not be exceeded. In the first experiments the idea was to create a small-wheeled robot, which can drive around on the ground to be a test platform for sticking tests with Velcro. We used an induction power-charging module which determined the smallest possible size of the robot.

Wireless power charger:

http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/wireless-power-supply-p- 701.html?cPath=155&zenid=f9be82e44c8fcc66eb986f3ca47e91d6

The rest of the power supply consists of the following items (without solar panel. solar panels could be part of the jacket to power the battery which powers the induction)

Li-Po Rider (power charger and power converter) and LIPO accu

http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/lipo-rider-p- 710.html?cPath=155&zenid=f9be82e44c8fcc66eb986f3ca47e91d6

Two very small geared DC motors where used on two big wheels to move and steer around. Cables used as stabilizers ensure the stability when driving to a certain direction. As vehicle, which is driving around on the ground, this prototype works well, but with Velcro attached and in a vertical position, the power of the motors is not high enough to move the motor a bit. Ideas for the next experiments are: Using some kind of chain drives could be an option to create a good detaching ability, because in the previous tests this problem seemed to be the one needing the most to be solved. Another approach could be to use an existing 6 legged robot (http://niki.xarch.at/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/zoe_basel_2_0011.jpg) which is equipped with an neodynium permanent magnet system as mentioned above. Maybe small pieces of Velcro on each of the six legs of the robot are a better system than wheels?

Jacket as a habitat

Additionally to finding a material, which would support and function well for the robot-attachment, the jacket needs also to be able to direct the robot that it stays within the borders of the jacket. This could, for example, be done with colored stripes that mark the area for the robot to move. The robot would be equipped with color sensor that detects the color-change and moves to another direction.

Another big question is if the robot has legs or wheels, which would require smooth surface of the jacket structure and material. This aspect influences the design/structure of the jacket, the area where the robot can move and the actual material used in the jacket.

Material challenges:

-material that supports the robot attachment

-material that supports the weight of electronic components

-material that is not too flexible, but still soft and textile-like

-material that does not wrinkle too much           

-material that looks interesting/good

List of things to be done or to be tested with the project (for the future):

The project is still in its initial state, many things needs to be done, tested and constructed. Also the practical side of the project work requires planning: funding and possibility for intense collaborative work periods.

Next steps to do:

-experimenting with jacket-robot attachment

-construction of super lightweight robot

-design and creation of jacket prototype: structure, material, design, marks for the area of the robot’s habitat

-issues: recharging of the robot, possible recharging of the jacket: technical structure of the whole project

-applications for funding and finding possibilities to work together

COMMENTS / NOTES

On of the things, which will need some thinking, is how the project will be exhibited. Will it be possible that the audience can actually wear the jacket, or will it be too fragile/sensitive for that?

Alternatively: Should it be worn by “a performer” that the audience can see it in use?

Or is it designed more as a reference of the idea, and in the exhibition it is displayed as an installation setup with a moving robot? And a video that presents the jacket in use?

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15.06.2011

We would like to thank you ! for the possibility to be part of this project.

For us DigitalHybridity-project/blog worked out quite well as a gentle pressure to develop further our idea in its initial stages of development.

This short summary is for now the closure for the Digital Hybridity-participation. However the project continues and in the future some results will be seen. Meanwhile, you can follow our activities on the websites:

http://www.realitydisfunction.org  - laura

http://niki.xarch.at/ - niki

In previous pieces i learned, that an evolutionary approach is a good method to finally archive the expected results. In this case we want to create a robotic creature which is able to move around on a human body. The first task was to determine an interesting method for the robot to stick on an agile, vetrical surface. We decided to have first tests done with velco, because this material promised to keep the weight the first prototypes would have. At the same time, velcro has the ability to be locked and unlocked a lot of times. The tissue abililities of velcro makes it also possible for us to create a suit where the robot would run on. In the following experiment I use these components:

Wireless power charger:

http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/wireless-power-supply-p- 701.html?cPath=155&zenid=f9be82e44c8fcc66eb986f3ca47e91d6

Li-Po Rider (power charger and power converter)

http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/lipo-rider-p- 710.html?cPath=155&zenid=f9be82e44c8fcc66eb986f3ca47e91d6

Li-Po Accu:

Arduino-like interface (seeduino):

http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/seeeduino-v221-atmega-328p-p- 669.html?cPath=80&zenid=f9be82e44c8fcc66eb986f3ca47e91d6

Annelli – Motion Experiment – 01:

At the first experiment i used wheels, because it seemed to work well with velcro, especially to open and to close the sticking effect. I used two mini geared motors and there is an autonomouse non interactive or reactive motion algorithm running.

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-CYFHCLbIY

After the quite good motion experiment on paper, I tested the behaviour on an wool jacket, but the velcro was sticking so much together, that the motors gav up and didn ́t move anymore.

After some research i found an mechanism which could solve the problem.

Annelli – Motion Experiment – 02:

Here a motion study of an mechanism with two standard servos can bee seen. Maybe this mechanism is strong enough to release the leg again from the surface ?

slow proceedings at the moment. i have sent to niki some samples to test velcro with a robot; how much power it needs to detach a leg from velcro and how well the velcro.material holds the weight of the robot. :laura

Some more theoretical reflections (excerpts from a text-in-progress by Beloff):

               Don Ihde has distinguished four different relations what humans can have with technological artifacts. In the embodiment relation, the technological artifact is embodied by the user in a way that it becomes transparent to the user. An example of this is e.g. eyeglasses.  In hermeneutic relation, technology is used to create representations of the world that are readable by human senses. For example, a thermometer is measuring the temperature of the air, which is given as readable data and interpreted by human. The third relation is alterity relation, in which technology is seen as other but which humans interact with. Examples of this are taking money out of an ATM machine, or Virtual Reality in which humans relate to a simulated world. (Ihde 1990, Jørgenssen 2003, Verbeek 2008) The fourth human-technology relation is background relation, in which technologies are on the background but create a context for our perception, e.g. various automated tasks, such as humming from air conditioning. (Ihde 1990, Verbeek 2008)      [...]
                Verbeek develops further Ihde’s proposition on human-technology relations by suggesting a fifth category which would come prior to embodiment relation on the Ihde’s list. This would be cyborg relation, in which “the human and the technological actually merge rather than “merely” being embodied.” (Verbeek, 2008) In the situation human is embedded with technological parts: pacemakers, artificial valves, microchips, antidepressants, etc. There is no longer a relation between human and non-human entities, but a new merged human/technology entity appears, which is then in relation to the world. (Verbeek, 2008) In this cyborg relation the question is no longer about human intentionality, but it forms a base for “hybrid intentionality”, which according to Verbeek is “beyond the human”. Based on Verbeek’s definition Ihde’s embodiment relation is not entirely human either, but in the experience mediated through technology one can still distinct between the human and the technological partitions. However in Verbeek’s cyborg relation this kind of distinction is not possible, because human and technology have formed as a single experiencing entity. “Technologies used, like telescopes and hearing aids, help to constitute us as different human beings, whereas technologies incorporated constitute a new hybrid being [...]” (Verbeek, 2008)            (excerpt; Beloff, 2011)
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On ANNELI-project:  The question is how should one think about or approach this project? what kind of human/body-technology-world relation it has?
Is the robot "the other"? Or is it part of oneself (in a similar way as mobile phones)?

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                           Verbeek develops also a concept of "composite intentionality" based on Don Ihde's formulations. The “composite intentionality” is intentionality of technology combined with intentionality of a human using the technological artifact. This intentionality is related to Ihde’s hermeneutic relation, which is concerned with representation of the world through technologically generated data (e.g. thermometer). In the Verbeek’s proposal for composite intentionality technology is “experiencing” the world autonomously and constructing its own reality. For example, the way radio telescope produces visible image of a star by “seeing” radiation, which would not otherwise be visible to the human eye. “There is a double intentionality involved here: one of technology toward “its” world, and one of human beings toward the result of this technological intentionality.” (Verbeek, 2008) This kind of intentionality reveals a reality that can only be sensed by technology, but which is made accessible by the technology for human intentionality.                (excerpt; Beloff, 2011)
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On ANNELI-project:  There is something interesting in the idea of having the two intentionalities (one of technology, one of human) merging. I would like to think about, and develop further, this project as a kind of "human-robot merger", rather than seeing it as "a human with a robot".   hmmmmm................



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references:

Ihde, D. (1990), Technology and the Lifeworld: From Garden to Earth, Bloomington and Inidanapolis, Indinana University Press.

Jørgenssen, J. F. (2003), A Garden Meeting: Ihde and Pickering, in Ihde, D. & Selinger, E. (Eds.) Chasing Technoscience; Matrix for Materiality, Bloomington & Indianapolis, Indiana University Press, 249.


Verbeek, P.-P. (2008), Cyborg Intentionality: Rethinking the phenomenology of human-technology relations. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 7, 387-395.

Here is a quick sketch of ANNELI; the wearable robot ... to have some visuals :-)

--also looking if one can buy velcro in larger widths...

:: OK. that is done. I found that velcro-like material is sold for all kinds of bulletin-board and fair-display purposes in many colors. One of the resellers is sending me some samples. Great! we will soon see if the attachment is too strong for the power/legs...

Here is a stolen (from online) microscopic image of velcro and how it functions. Its invention is based on bio-mimicry.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velcro

Lets see if we can work with it or do we need to think about a different solution, maybe a "more robotic" one.

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I have to post here a link (which came to us in a comment) for a snake-robot; very interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VLjDjXzTiU

The project "Anneli" is very much in its initial state of planning, thinking and developing solutions.

The plan is to construct a system with: a robot, a human, a jacket = wearable robot.

We hope to be able to construct the system in a way that a robot can autonomously/freely move on the jacket, which is thought out to be its habitat. Also the jacket would be mobile/wearable (at least that would be the aim).

Big questions that need material/practical solutions:

A) how the robot is powered? it needs to be very light as it will be moving on unstable "ground".

-through the jacket? this would easily limit the area of moving. on the other hand it would be great; in theory one could use electro-magnets for attachment and also power the creature through them. however it seems quite complicated, also the electromagnets use themselves a lot of energy.

-at the moment we are looking at more traditional solution: batteries on the robot, which would then be powered with wireless system.

B) how does the robot hold itself on the jacket; surface that can be vertical and non-smooth?

-solutions: magnets, electro-magnets, velcro...

-a new thought about small pins on the legs that would come out when a leg touches a surface and go in when the leg is about to move again. the surface could be a thick wool/wool-like material where the pin would hold on its own...

-as an initial try we have decided to investigate  a "passive-system" with velcro and see how that would work and hold.     assumed possible problems with it: it will need a lot of force/power to detach the leg from velcro-surface, or, the hold is not good enough for the weight of the robot. 

--also looking if one can buy velcro in larger widths...

Hopefully some sketches and visual thoughts coming in the next days...

(At the moment Niki is working really hard for an exhibition in prague: Enter5)

ANNELI

Laura Beloff & Niki Passath

"ANNELI" is a work-in-progress by Laura Beloff (Helsinki, Finland) and Niki Passath (Vienna, Austria); 2011.

The project deals with the relationship between the non-human and the human: an artificial creature and a human "host". The plan is to build a wearable robot; a small-scale robot that has a (wearable) jacket as its habitat and in which it can move around autonomously.

This project for the Digital Hybridity website will chart our ongoing collaboration, presenting our communication as we develop the project; it will be a forum for sharing of ideas, for conceptual development and for practical solutions. Currently the project is very much in its initial stages – we welcome all comments and suggestions from the public along the way, as well as other offers of support.