Universal Robots has collaborated with The Koppel Project and Dr Merritt Moore to curate an interactive exhibition that took place between 29th April – 15th May 2021.
The London exhibition was called “Loading…” and explored the dynamic intersections between humanity and technology; the spaces between dreaming and data, code and catharsis.
The collaboration featured the exhibition of Luxton’s vivid photographs exploring the void-within-a-void of technological dreaming during lockdown; installations by Williams, looking at non-spaces of hypermodernity and the dialogue between technological experience and landscape; and an interactive element programmed by Moore and her dance partner Baryshnibot, a Universal Robots’ cobot.
Dr. Moore’s piece explored liminal interplay and non-verbal, embodied communication between humans and machines. She programmed the cobot to perform short dance sequences as a continuation of her work exploring dance duets between humans and robots.
Moore’s interactive piece, Re:Bot, around which Loading… was curated, transformed the environment of the art gallery with a spatial device able to sense human movements and trigger an interaction with the robot. The dialogue between humans and machines is therefore created by movement, encouraging the public to explore the space and their “partner” in the same way a dancer does.
Dr. Moore said, “I’m so excited to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Universal Robots on this exhibition. I believe that arts and STEM should not be considered separate disciplines. I wanted to explore how cobots and humans could interact and enhance each other’s abilities.”
Mark Gray, Country Manager UK&I, Universal Robots said, “It’s fascinating to see Dr. Moore taking our cobots and seamlessly incorporating them into dance and choreography. The cobots were always designed to sit alongside people, supporting them and helping them to reach their full potential. This is a great example of this in practice and shows automation is far from the daunting concept it is sometimes painted as.”
