The 3-Story Robots is a large projection mapped head rolling around on a custom-built robotics platform that tells a 3D animated story about the future of humans and robots’ coevolution.

After tracking the viewer and moving toward and away from the viewer, turning to avoid walls, they stop and tell a 10- minute narrated story about how humans and intelligent robots will come together. These robots use projection-mapped video onto a soft, translucent, front-facing flat screen to tell stories about our emerging relationships with a semi-living robotic species.

woman in 3-Story Robots by Ken Rinaldo at the National Center of Arts, machinic Error, curated by Gabriela Romero Mexico City, 2015
3-Story Robots by Ken Rinaldo at the National Center for Arts, machinic Error, curated by Gabriela Romero Mexico City, 2015

Stories of symbiogenesis where future robotic augmentations will allow us to communicate clearly with insects, animals, and plants. In this future, humans are also forming loving relationships with robots, increasingly replacing humans in the work pool.

Robotic buttons can now dispense pharmaceuticals with new nano sniffer air jets, and robots oversee all human productivity by watching us statistically. At the same time, they are dependent on us as they are powered by human waste streams. These works were commissioned by the National Center for Arts for the Machinic Error exhibition, curated by Gabriela Romero in Mexico City in 2015.

In the future, robots have developed the capability to sense our pheromonal chemical signals and read our secret desires, to use these to manipulate us. Slowly they assume remarkable and more significant roles in human and robotic coevolution by taking the lead in how they are evolving.

fem-bot 3 Robots Story by Ken Rinaldo at the National Center of Arts, machinic Error, curated by Gabriela Romero Mexico City, 2015
Image from the animation 3-Story Robots by Ken Rinaldo at the National Center for Arts, machinic Error, Mexico City, 2015

In the scene above, the fembot is at a business to interview for the artificial intelligence specialist WHO gave rise to her. She can use her pheromones to manipulate him as he walks by her, leaving for his lunch.

grasshopper1
Animation image from 3-Story Robots by Ken Rinaldo at the National Center for Arts, machinic Error, Mexico City, 2015

Above in the animation is an arthropod nano-glove. As part of the animation, the main protagonist massages the head of his pet cricket Minerva. These gloves can reach into nano-spaces with fingers grown on fingers to reach the sub-molecular. Hans Morovic discusses nano gloves in his writings.

Ken Rinaldo With his 3-Story Robot at National Arts Centre, machinic Error, Mexico City, 2015
Ken Rinaldo With his 3-Story Robot at National Arts Centre, machinic Error, Mexico City, 2015

Below is an image of the 3D animation discussing the protagonist’s difficulty with the notion that his daughter was born in a robotic incubator.

3-Story Robots robotic incubator by Ken Rinaldo at the National Center of Arts, Error machinic Mexico City, 2015
3-Story Robots by Ken Rinaldo at the National Center for Arts, Error machinic Mexico City, 2015
3-Story Robots by Ken Rinaldo at the National Center of Arts, machinic Error, curated by Gabriela Romero Mexico City, 2015
Viewers watching 3-Story Robots by Ken Rinaldo at the National Center for Arts, machinic Error, Mexico City, 2015

EXHIBITIONS

CENTRO NATIONAL DE LAS ARTES (CENART)                             Mexico City, Mexico, 2014
The premiere of the 3 Story robots commissioned by CENART, invited by curator Gabriela Romero

Hopkins Hall, 2015 Columbus Ohio Gallery 152

THE ABERDEEN PAVILION, Ottawa, Canada, November 6 & 7, 2015
Maker Faire, Ottawa, Canada, Premiere of the 3-Story Robot in Happy Machine, invited Remco Volmer.

Artist and director:

Ken Rinaldo

CREDITS / TECHNICAL

Concept, animation, script, editing design, and production: Ken Rinaldo
Animation: Ken Rinaldo, Mario Serrano, and Seung Yoon
Sound  and Script: Ken Rinaldo
Sound remixing: Trademark Gunderson
Electronics design: Ken Rinaldo
MAX MSP Jitter / Maxuino coding: Trademark Gunderson
Metal Base Fabrication: AllFab Inc. Columbus Ohio

The sculpture was created using an existing animation called the Pheromone Robot Stories by Ken Rinaldo, Mario Serrano, and Keung Yoon. The software For This robot was done in MAX MSP and Jitter talking MAXUINO via a PC, nano projector, and projection-mapped face and scenes. Motion control was via an Arduino talking MAXUINO to a PC running Windows via an L298 motor control board.

Lessons on building and programming interactive robots.

SHOW REQUIREMENTS & DIMENSIONS

This work can be displayed in a standard darkened room, Either in a ring or not. If not in a round, it can avoid walls though it can not see tables, chairs, or other objects. Still, I will prevent walls and significant obstacles. It can navigate to find people to stop and tell me the story. The best display space is a room 20 x 15 feet minimum size.

KEYWORDS

robotics, projection mapping, futures robot, human tracking, sound, 3D animation, narrative, autonomy

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Explore boundaries of “robotic art” Artists, engineers, scientists, archaeologists, and scholars in this meeting will reflect on the links between creativity and virtual life 11.06.2014 by Sonia Avila
CENART, The Multimedia Center, presents the International Meeting of Artistic Robotics. Error machinic, November 29, 2014, http://www.dondeir.com/arte-y-cultura/encuentro-internacional-de-robotica-artistica/2014/11
The Error machinic. International Conference on Robotics Artistic | (R) registromx 2-6, 2014
Science, Education, and Technology, a meeting of art and robotics CENART By Press ICL / Source: Conaculta 25/11/14
The National Arts Centre will house four The Error machinic days to analyze the relationship between humans, and the International Meeting starts Robotics Art By Ramiro Rivera – November 26, 2014 – 4:27
Interactive robots reach the CENART http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/after-office/robots-interactivos-llegan-al-cenart.html 02/02/2014
Unveiled interactive robots in CENART– 11/26/14 Millennium Group http://www.milenio.com/cultura/robots_artisticos-CNART muestra_internacional_de_robotica_0_415758693.html
interactive robots reach the National Arts Centre – ELIMPARCIAL.COM 11/30/14
Art Contemporary Art Edicoes Inverno 2013-14, pp 2 36.
El Centro Multimedia del Cenart presenta el Encuentro Internacional de Robótica Artística. El Error Maquínico, 29 de Nov 2014
http://www.dondeir.com/arte-y-cultura/encuentro-internacional-de-robotica-artistica/2014/11
El Error Maquínico. Encuentro Internacional de Robótica Artística | (R)registromx 2-6, 2014
Ciencia, Educación y Tecnología, Encuentro de arte y robótica en el CENART Por Prensa ICL / Fuente: Conaculta 25/11/14
El Centro Nacional de las Artes albergará por cuatro días El Error Maquínico, para analizar la relación entre los humanos y las máquinas. http://www.dondeir.com/arte-y-cultura/encuentro-internacional-de-robotica-artistica/2014/11
Hoy inicia Encuentro Internacional de Robótica Artística Por Ramiro Rivera – noviembre 26 de 2014 – 4:27
Interactive robots reach the Cenart http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/after-office/robots-interactivos-llegan-al-cenart.html 2/2/2014
Presentarán robots interactivos en el Cenart – Grupo Milenio 11/26/14
http://www.milenio.com/cultura/robots_artisticos-CNART muestra_internacional_de_robotica_0_415758693.html
Robots interactivos llegan al Centro Nacional de las Artes – ELIMPARCIAL.COM 11/30/14
Arte Edicoes de Arte Contemporanea Inverno 2013-14, pgs 2, 36.

TELEVISION/RADIO

Channel 3 + 5 Mexico City, Coverage of 3-Story Robots, 2015