Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




ROBO SPACE
Dancing Robot Swan Triggers Emotions
by Staff Writers
Stockholm, Sweden (SPX) Sep 24, 2010


The approximately one-meter-tall dancing swan is designed on the basis of a robot that was previously a student's degree project. The robot was built by a modular system and in the white wings, neck, beak and feet there are a total of 19 different joints, which makes it very flexible. Credit: Kerstin Gauffin

The Dying Swan is sometimes moving smoothly and gently, sometimes in a dramatic and fiery manner, as Tchaikovsky's majestic music from the ballet Swan Lake is playing. Yet this is no ordinary ballet , but a robot in the form of a swan, created at Malardalen University and choreographed by professional dancer Asa Unander-Scharin.

The swan robot's just over four-minute-long dance has so far been seen only by a select few. But it has already made a big impression. Tearful eyes and words like "touching", "fascinating" and "beautiful" are some of the reactions.

- We want to explore the limits of what a robot can do, what human expressions it can mimic, and how it affects people's perception of the robot when it makes an appearance in art and dance, says Lars Asplund, Professor of Computer Science at Malardalen University in Vasteras, Sweden.

His research field is robotics and he has designed the approximately one-metre-tall dancing swan on the basis of a robot that was previously a student's degree project. The robot was built by a modular system and in the white wings, neck, beak and feet there are a total of 19 different joints, which makes it very flexible.

The idea for the dancing robot was hatched jointly by Lars Asplund and his colleague Kerstin Gauffin, who works with theatre at Malardalen University.

- With our swan we are showing that we can use robots in new ways - simply because they are beautiful and give the audience new experiences, says Kerstin Gauffin, who wants to see robots appear on stages along with "ordinary" actors.

She got in touch with the professional dancer and choreographer Asa Unander-Scharin, who now has designed the robot's special dance to the tunes of the famous composer Tchaikovsky. By systematically having the robot swan perform each movement by itself - right wing up, neck down, etc - Unander-Scharin has "taught" the robot swan her choreography because the computer inside it "recalls" the movement pattern and then plays it as an entire dance program.

Asa Unander-Scharin is used to working with stage performances in which the choreography interacts with music, scene space and new technology. She has also done research in the field and wrote the thesis "Human mechanics and soulful machines: choreographic perspectives on human qualities in body movement".

- I think it's exciting to see how emotionally touched people can get by machines, and to do the choreography for the swan robot has been great fun, says Asa Unander-Scharin.

.


Related Links
Swedish Research Council
All about the robots on Earth and beyond!






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








ROBO SPACE
'Automatic' artificial arm said 'too easy'
Orlando, Fla. (UPI) Sep 24, 2010
An artificial arm programmed to work automatically disappointed some users in a study - they said it was "too easy" - U.S. researchers report. University of Central Florida researchers thought the ease of using the program's automatic mode would be a huge hit, but they were surprised when most test participants preferred the manual mode-- which requires them to think several steps ahe ... read more


ROBO SPACE
Magnetic Anomalies Shield The Moon

New Australian footage of Neil Armstrong's moon walk

Watch Out For The Super Harvest Moon

Water on Moon is bad news for China's lunar telescope

ROBO SPACE
Martian Moon Phobos May Have Formed by Catastrophic Blast

First Results From Herschel Mars Observations

Peculiar Phenomena During Northern Spring On Mars

Opportunity Approaching Possible Meteorite

ROBO SPACE
CSF Strongly Supports Senate NASA Authorization Bill

Be Careful What You Do With Space Garbage

ADI Advances US Legislative Campaign Against Planned NASA Primate Experiments

Virgin to launch space tourism in 18 months: Branson

ROBO SPACE
China Ready For Another Lunar Encounter

China keeps up busy space launch schedule

Space-Age Device To Deliver More Efficient Health Care On Earth And Above

China Launches New Satellite

ROBO SPACE
Soyuz crew admit to disappointment at delayed landing

Russian spacecraft lands safely after delays

International Partners Discuss ISS Extension And Use

Spacecraft with three cosmonauts undocks after delay

ROBO SPACE
Vandenberg launches Minotaur IV

LockMart And ATK Athena Launch Vehicles Selected As A NASA Launch Services Provider

Sirius XM-5 Satellite Delivered To Baikonur For October Launch

Emerging Technologies May Fuel Revolutionary Launcher

ROBO SPACE
This Planet Smells Funny

Scientists looking to spot alien oceans

Deadly Tides Mean Early Exit For Hot Jupiters

Can We Spot Volcanoes On Alien Worlds

ROBO SPACE
Northrop Grumman Space Cryocoolers Achieve 100 Years Of On-Orbit Performance

NASA's NPP Climate Satellite Passes Pre-Environmental Review

Japan to pilot digital textbooks in classrooms

BlackBerry maker RIM unveils 'PlayBook' tablet computer




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement