The Paparazzi Bots is a series of autonomous robots standing at the average human’s height.
Comprised of multiple microprocessors, cameras, sensors, code, and robotic actuators on a custom-built rolling platform, they move at the speed of a walking human, avoiding walls and obstacles while using sensors to move toward humans.
They seek one thing, which is to capture photos of people and to make these images available to the press and the world wide web as a statement of culture’s obsession with the “celebrity image” and especially our selfie images.
The flash autonomously goes off, capturing people’s photos and elevating them to “celebrities” in a momentary anointing by the robots.
They were commissioned by The Dynasty Foundation Russia with curator Dmitry Bulatov and The Vancouver Olympics with Malcolm Levy as curator.
They had their first showing in Portugal in an exhibition curated by Leonel Moura.
The robots also become celebrities by associating with the “famous people” at the exhibition captured by the Paparazzi Bots. Each autonomous robot can decide to take photos of particular people while ignoring other humans in the show, based on things such as whether or not the viewers are smiling or the shape of their smile.
When the robots identify a person or group, they automatically adjust their focus and use a series of bright flashes to record that moment. Surveillance technologies straddle a delicate balance in contemporary culture, where we are all photographed without our knowledge by cell phones, hidden cameras, and sometimes “celebritized”.
This is a kind of modern baptism with the camera flash and the spectacle of being the focus of the camera becoming a kind of techno-anointing.
This work explores ideas surrounding the shifting territories of self and machine and how machines can manipulate the other (us) in a grand co-evolutionary dance of emerging robot-human relations.
The recent emergence of social networks and their ability to connect people through software prompts via the world wide web is a prime example of the co-evolution of humans and their intelligent machines. They capture people who seem all so natural with the stances of the chasing paparazzi.
The fact that the software prompts exploit our social needs for connectivity and social space is easily manipulated in this new critical juncture in our emerging machine-human relations.
EXHIBITIONS
THE URBAN ARTS SPACE, Columbus, Ohio, June 1, July 15, 2017
Engineering Utopia exhibition shows 3 Paparazzi bots and paparazzi prints, Invited and curated by Kris Paulsen
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.
CENTRO NATIONAL DES ARTES Mexico City, November 27th of, 2014-2015
The worldwide premiere of the 3-Story robot was invited and commissioned by Gabriela Romero Islas. Also showing one Paparazzi Bot
LUMOS GALLERY, Columbus, Ohio, 2014
Exhibition of Seed Series Prints, Augmented Fish Reality and Paparazzi Bots Invited by Kayla & Nick Davis
THE TAPESTRY MUSEUM, Aix en Provence, France, 2013
The Anti Atlas of Borders exhibition will present the Paparazzi Bots installation invited by Isabelle Arvers.
CONRAD ART GALLERY, Mansfield, Ohio, 2012
The Paparazzi Bot and Spider Bot for Conflux Exhibition curated by Kate Shannon
NUIT BLANCHE Toronto Canada, Oct 2011
The premiere of commissioned Fusiform Polyphony: Face Music at Yonge Dundas Square and 2 Paparazzi Bots in the Eaton Centre. Invited by curator Shirley Madill
CODE ON THE GROUND, VANCOUVER OLYMPICS, GREAT NORTHERN WAY GALLERY, Vancouver, Canada Feb 2010
Commission for three new Paparazzi Bots invited by Malcolm Levy. Premiere North America
TRANSMEDIALE, Berlin, Germany Feb 2010
Paparazzi Bots premiere Germany, invited by curator Honor Harger
LA MAISON d’AILLEURS, MUSEUM OF SCIENCE FICTION, UTOPIA & EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEYS Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland Sept-Mar 2010-11
Premiere of Enteric Consciousness commissioned by Director Patrick Gyger
HOPKINS HALL GALLERY, Columbus, Ohio October 2009
Paparazzi Bots premiere Ohio curated by Prudence Gill
INSIDE ART SCIENCE, Lisbon, Portugal, Sept 2009
Paparazzi Bots premiere Portugal invited by Leonel Moura. Hardbound catalog and text produced.
THIRD MOSCOW BIENNALE, Moscow, Russia, Sept 2009-Nov.-2009
Evolution Haute Couture: Art and Science in the Post-Biological Age. Artist documentary about The Autotelematic Spider Bots and The Augmented Fish Reality. Invited by curator Dmitry Bulatov. Commission of Paparazzi Bots.
CREDITS
Design and 3D modeling: Ken Rinaldo
Construction: Ken Rinaldo
Hardware: Ken Rinaldo
Electronics: Ken Rinaldo
Software: Ken Rinaldo
Metal Fabrication: AllFab Inc. Columbus, Ohio Russel Roth Jr/Sr
HARDWARE/TECHNIQUE
The brains and microcontrollers are talking through a four-wire corpus callosum. One microcontroller handles sensing, motor control, and activation, while the other handles motion/distance sensors integration to allow the shots to be taken. Smile sensors are part of each system and can be adjusted to be on or off or controlled for the amount of smile.
A radio transceiver is on one of the robots for receiving by the projector or large TV.
Lessons on building and programming interactive robots.
SHOW DIMENSIONS
The size of the ring is min 17 x 13 feet max height is 7 inches high.
Power: AC 115-220 HZ.
KEYWORDS
3D modeling, interactive, robots, touch, photography, autonomy, selfie,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
INSIDE Arte E Ciência 2009, Lisbon, Portugal, edited by Leonel Moura, 2009, Paparazzi Bots, by Ken Rinaldo. Pg 202-207
DO ROBOTS DREAM OF SPRING? – The Art of Ken Rinaldo at the Maison d’Ailleurs. Retrospective with forwards by Bruce Sterling and Patrick Gyger. Yverdon-Les-Bains: September 19, 2010, to March 20, 2011
REVIEWS
614 Magazine; http://614columbus.com/2014/12/tedxcolumbus-the-future-is-now-and-friendly/ by Chris Gaitten
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, 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.
Der Freitag, Das Berliner, Transmediale-Festival schaut nach vorn: Ausstellung und assoziierte Musikveranstaltungen versammeln Positionen unter dem Motto “Futurity Now!” Transmediale, 02, 5, 2010 by Philipp Brugner
Digitale Transformationen Die Publikation “Digitale Transformationen” 2012 by ulrike reinhard pg 83
mus-A 12 “La comunicación y el Museo” 2010 pg 146 coverage of Paparazzi Bots at Transmediale Germany
Neus Deutschland, Transmediale, Die Transmediale.10 untersucht die Zukunftsträchtigkeit der Gegenwart, Von Tom Mustroph 2, 4, 2010.
Zeit Online, Medienkunst auf der Transmediale: 2,11, 10 7:30, Böse Insektenaugena, Paparazzi-Roboter und wolkenförmige W-Lan-Netze: Eine Ausstellung im Rahmen der Berliner, Transmediale macht digitale Phänomene sichtbar.
mus-A 12 “La comunicación y el Museo” 2010 pg 146 coverage of Paparazzi Bots at Transmediale Germany
Deutschlandradio Kultur, Das Festival Transmediale 2010 betreibt nur noch technologischen Naturschutz, Von Carsten Probst, 2, 10, 2010.
BauNetz Media, Meldungen, 27.01.2010, Futurity Now, Eröffnung der Transmediale.10 in Berlin
Parallax Product Catalog and Calendar, 2010, March and August
Vancouver Sun FEBRUARY 5, 2010, Cultural Olympiad: CODE propels art and music on an interactive flight BY Kevin Griffith
Vancouver Observer, CODE Live 1 Excites Crowds at Great Northern Way Campus as Part of The Cultural Olympiad John Tanner Feb 7th, 2010
Neus Deutschland, Transmediale, Die Transmediale.10 untersucht die Zukunftsträchtigkeit der Gegenwart, Von Tom Mustroph 2, 4, 2010.
TELEVISION & RADIO
Channel 3 + 5 Mexico City, Coverage of 3-Story Robots, 2015
Robots: Robot ArtInterviewer David St-Onge 2011
http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/2011/09/robots-robot-art-iii/
http://www.euranet.eu/eng/programme/English-Programmes/Network-Europe-Extra-7-February 2010
WLFI TV CBS affiliate. Channel 18 interviewed by Anchor; assistant news director Jeff Smith at Purdue University exhibition March 3, 2008