Results 1 - 3 of 3
Project Persons Year Tags
Insect Robots Leonel Moura 2008 robotics, biology, aestethics, mechanics, sound, environment, insects, ai
Based on the BEAM robotics (Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, Mechanics) the exhibition depicts a series of over 100 small autonomous robots with different morphologies and characteristics. A large installation shows 50 cricket-like small robots imprisoned in droplet glass shapes creating a kind of jungle sound environment. Other robots look like small trees or move around like insects. BEAM robotics is presented here as a new kind of (artificial) life.
Pigeon d'Or Tuur Van Balen 2011 metabolism, city, urban, pigeons, biotechnology, environment, synthetic biology, bacteria, aestethics, design biology
The city is a vast and incredibly complex metabolism in which the human species is the tiniest of fractions; tiny and yet intrinsically linked into an organic embroidery beyond our understanding. It is within this complex fabric that (future) biotechnologies will end up. Pigeon d’Or proposes the use of feral pigeons as a platform and interface for synthetic biology in an urban environment by attempting to make a pigeon defecate soap. By modifying the metabolism of pigeons, synthetic biology allows us to add new functionality to what are commonly seen as “flying rats.” A special bacteria has been designed and created that, when fed to pigeons, turns feces into detergent and is as harmless to pigeons as yoghurt is to humans. Through the pursuit of manipulating pigeon excrement and designing appropriate architectural interfaces, the project explores the ethical, political, practical and aesthetic consequences of designing biology.
SUN-D Jonas Burki 1991 sunlight, information, design, technology, aestethics, screen, nature, symbiosis
SUN-D’s look like LED screens, but they’re anything but that. They’re powered by daylight or distinct light sources. They interact with their immediate environment. It’s an aesthetic fusion of information and lighting design. SUN_D depicts information via sunlight and extant natural light sources. To counteract the general sensory overload due to digital media that frequently put a real strain on users, we intentionally work with a way of depicting graphics whose naturally engendered glow is quite pleasant for the human eye to behold.