Eve of Dust

Background: Eve of Dust examines the possibilities and anxieties arising from collaboration between humans and emerging robotic systems. The work examined whether choreographic structures could enhance the fluency of human-robot interaction, hence re-framing the interaction as a more equal collaboration and foregrounding trust and an ethics of exchange within the human/robot interaction. Contribution: Eve of Dust was a collaborative performance installation between a dancer and a Sawyer collaborative robot. The work was developed using choreographic structures such as learning by example, direct manipulation of the robot to generate recorded movement, force/weight-based improvisation similar to contact improvisation, and interaction through gesture with a vive controller from which the robot planned and generated motion. A virtual environment created in the Unity game engine mediated the data interactions between human and robot and generated a sound score generated in real time using the movement of the robot's seven joints. The virtual environment was the means of exchange between dance and robot. The environment was invisible to spectators but afforded physical agency through the robot/dancer interactions. The work presented a novel and compelling model of fluent physical exchange between humans and collaborative robots using choreographic methods and mediated via a real-time virtual environment. Significance: Eve of Dust was selected by the peer review selection panel to be part of the prestigious SIGGRAPH Asia Art Gallery 2018. SIGGRAPH Asia is one of the most significant international conferences and exhibitions concerning computer graphics and related technological innovation. The work was presented at Tokyo International Forum, a highly prestigious exhibition centre in the heart of Tokyo. Subsequently Eve of Dust had a Brisbane Powerhouse performance season in August 2019.