ICRA 2018 - Robots and Art Forum - On Expressive Robotic Systems by Amy Laviers
Channel: Robotic Art
Date: 2018-06-13

[This is an invited talk presented at the Robots and Art Forum at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Brisbane, Australia on 24 May 2018 -  http://roboticart.org/icra2018/]
Why would a robotics lab need an artist-in-residence?  What’s the practical value in a “dancing” robot?  The idea that function and expression can be divided is present in the first usage of the term “robot” in Capek’s science fiction play, RUR, where the characters discuss the differences between humans and robots in this light; indeed, this origin confuses the science around this aspect of robotics.  Thus, I pose a formalism for the concept of expression – and its fundamental relationship with function – to inform robotic system design and analysis. Then, through embodied audience participation and visual aids, I will present ongoing work in my lab that is developing such expressive robotic systems and measuring their effect on humans through art and performance. I’ll explain how embodied movement exercises have informed the software and hardware design of in-development robots, how movement analysts are integral parts of this work flow, how perception of variable motion depends on context, and how an artistic performance acts as a live testbed for expressive robotic systems.

Amy LaViers is an assistant professor in the Mechanical Science and Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and director of the Robotics, Automation, and Dance (RAD) Lab.  She is the recipient of a 2015 DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) and 2017 Product Design of the Year at the 4th Revolution Awards in Chicago for her automation software start up AE Machines.  She completed a two year Certification in Movement Analysis (CMA) in 2016 at the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS).  Prior to UIUC she held a position as an assistant professor in systems and information engineering at the University of Virginia.  She completed her Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech with a dissertation that included a live performance exploring stylized motion.  Her research began in her undergraduate senior thesis at Princeton University where she earned a certificate in dance and a degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering.