petting zoo

source: minimaforms

Minimaforms was founded in 2002 by brothers Stephen and Theodore Spyropoulos as an experimental architecture and design practice. Using design as a mode of enquiry, the studio explores architecture and design than can enable new forms of communication. Embracing a generative and behavioral approach the studio develops open systems that construct participatory and interactive frameworks that engage the everyday.

Pushing the boundaries of art, architecture and design the work of Minimaforms is interdisciplinary and forward thinking exploring digital design and fabrication along with communication technologies seeking to construct spaces of social and material interaction. In 2010, Minimaforms was nominated for the International Chernikhov Prize in architecture. In 2008 their project Memory Cloud was named one of the top ten international public art installations by the Guardian.

Recent projects include two thematic pier landmarks and the illumination concept for a Renzo Piano’s master planned 760 acre National Park in Athens, a large scale land art work in Norway, a vehicle in collaboration with artist Krzysztof Wodiczko, a behavior based robotic installation for the FRAC Centre and immersive ephemeral environment for the city of Detroit. The work of Minimaforms is in the permanent collections of the FRAC Centre (France), the Signum Foundation (Poland) and the Archigram Archive (UK). In 2008 their project Memory Cloud was named one of the top ten international art installations by the Telegraph. Recent exhibitions have included work shown at the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Detroit Institute of Arts, ICA (London), FRAC Centre (France), Futura Gallery (Prague), Slovak National Gallery (Bratislava), and the Architecture Foundation (UK). They have been featured in international media including BBC, BBC radio, Robert Elms Show, Wired Magazine, Fast Company, Guardian, Blueprint, and Icon Magazine. They were named Creative Review’s “One to Watch.”

Petting Zoo is the latest work developed by experimental architecture and design studio Minimaforms. The project is speculative life-like robotic environment that raises questions of how future environments could actively enable new forms of communication with the everyday. Artificial intelligent creatures have been designed with the capacity to learn and explore behaviors through interaction with participants. Within this immersive installation interaction with the pets foster human curiosity, play, forging intimate exchanges that are emotive and evolving over time. Beyond technology the project explores new forms of enabled communication between people and their environment.

The installation exhibits life-like attributes through forms of conversational interaction establishing communication with users that is emotive and sensorial. Conceived as an immersive installation environment, social and synthetic forms of systemic interactions allow the pets to engage and evolve their behaviors over time. Pets interact and stimulate participation with users through the use of animate behaviors communicated through kinesis, sound and illumination. These behaviors evolve over time through interaction enabling each pet to develop personalities. Pet interactions are stimulated through interaction with human users or between other pets within the population. Intimacy and curiosity are explored as enabling agents that externalize personal experience through forms of direct visual, haptic and aural communication.
Early historical experiments that examine similar issues can be found in the seminal cybernetic work of the Senster developed by the British cybernetic sculptor, Edward Ihnatowicz, Gordon Pask’s The Colloquy of Mobiles, and Walter Gray Walter’s first electronic autonomous robots (Tortoises) called Elmer and Elsie. Petting Zoo continues Minimaforms ongoing research in participatory and enabling frameworks examining cybernetic and behavior based design systems that can be found in other works of theirs like Becoming Animal exhibited in MoMA’s Talk To Me show and Memory Cloud: Detroit (2011) ICA London (2008).
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source: novinibg

Във Франция се появи необичаен зоопарк от роботи, в който киберживотни взаимодействат с посетителите и по различен начин реагират на тяхното поведение, пише “МегаВселена”. За разлика от истинските животни електронните същества може да се пипат. Освен това „питомците” реагират на човешко докосване, което позволява образуването на емоционална връзка. Електронните създания са не просто бездушни роботи, а стават индивидуални „личности”.

Днес домашните животни все по-често се заместват от роботи. Киберкотки и киберкучета са особено популярни в Япония. Необичайният зоопарк, който се е появил във френския град Орлеан, е привлякъл вниманието дори на най-вещите любители на робототехниката.

Тук в Изложбения център за съвременни технологии лондонското дизайнерско студио Minimaforms е представило своя киберзоопарк, където вместо с животни посетителите се развличат с общителни роботи.

Необичайни конструкции, висящи от тавана, приличат на гирлянди, а други – на дълги пипала. Но главното е, че те притежават богата гама от чувства.

Реагират на човешко докосване и дори на поведението на посетителя. Например роботите се протягат към хората, които искат да общуват с тях, и обратно – игнорират посетителите, които не проявяват към тях интерес.

Създателите на необичайните животни обясняват, че те могат да следят движенията на човека с множество сензори. Освен това дори са способни да идентифицират жестовете, преди да им отговорят. Тоест роботизираното пипало може да си поиграе с човека, а може и да се отдръпне от него. Едно и също поведение на посетителя може да провокира различни отговори от робота в зависимост от настроението на последния.

По замисъла на създателите роботизираната „менажерия” с времето трябва да придобие собствен характер, което ще позволи на обитателите на необичайния зоопарк да образуват емоционална връзка с човека, която ще може да се усъвършенства в бъдеще.

Докато повечето научни центрове работят над техническото усъвършенстване на роботите (например върху опорно-двигателната им система), то специалистите от Minimaforms търсят разумна и емоционална реакция от своите киберживотни.
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source: adictamente

Un zoológico francés, concretamente de Orleans, tiene a unos inquilinos la mar de simpáticos pero a los que no podrás ver en cualquier zoológico ya que… se trata de robots. Las mascotas robóticas que residen en el zoo cuelgan del techo y brillan como si fueran gusanos de luz. ¿De quién es la idea?La firma responsable de estos tentáculos robóticos es Minimaforms, formada por los hermanos Stephen y Theodore Spyropoulos, que además, ha introducido el movimiento a base de interacción con los visitantes. Este ambiente animal-robótico de arquitectura experimental tiene como objetivo mostrar al robot como mascota activa.

¿Cómo funcionan los tentáculos robóticos?Usando cámaras de seguimiento de movimiento y análisis de datos, los robots se mueven hacia el visitante o lejos de él y cambian también los colores que muestran, respondiendo con ellos a esas interacciones. El proyecto titulado “Minimaforms’ Petting Zoo”, como otros realizados por Minimaforms, explora sistemas de diseño basados en el comportamiento. Lo bueno que tienen estas curiosas mascotas del zoo, es que ni comen, ni duermen, por tanto los responsables del zoo están más que contentos con tan llamativos nuevos inquilinos.
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source: numrushnl

Naar de dierentuin gaan is altijd leuk, zolang alle dieren goed verzorgd worden. Maar er is altijd wel een gedeelte gereserveerd voor geitjes of konijnen die geaaid mogen worden door vijf-jarige kinderen. En er is altijd wel discussie over of dit niet te veel stress oplevert voor zo’n dier.

Londense designstudio Minimaforms heeft daarom een Robotic Petting Zoo ontwikkeld, oftewel een ‘dierentuin’ waar met robots gespeeld kan worden. Deze elektronische wezens kunnen verschillende soorten gedrag leren en vertonen, gebaseerd op hun interactie met de bezoekers.

Minimaforms heeft Kinects gebruikt om de mensen in de dierentuin te kunnen volgen. Ook zijn in de robots verschillende camera’s verwerkt die in staat zijn gebaren van mensen te kunnen herkennen en om precies te kunnen bepalen waar een bezoeker zich bevindt.

Met dit project wil de designstudio onderzoeken hoe robots in de toekomst kunnen communiceren met mensen. In deze dierentuin gebeurt dan in ieder geval door beweging, geluid en verlichting. Door dat iedere robot gedrag ‘leert’ op basis van interactie met bezoekers, zal na een tijdje iedere robot een eigen persoonlijkheid ontwikkelen.
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source: jack35

Petting Zoo est une installation interactive conçue par l’agence londonienne Minimaforms. Elle tire son nom d’un zoo pour enfants dans lequel des animaux domestiques côtoient des espèces plus sauvages, que l’on peut approcher. Ces trois « créatures cyborg » à tentacules lumineuses, flexibles et vibrantes se laissent approcher tout comme le ferait un animal vivant. Chacun des bras possède des caractéristiques et des « personnalités » qui évoluent en fonction de l’activité des visiteurs : celle-ci est enregistrée par des capteurs puis traduite en temps réel dans le comportement même des structures articulées. Par exemple, plus l’activité des visiteurs est grande, plus le mouvement des tentacules s’amplifie et plus le contact sensible entre l’objet et la personne s’intensifie. Mais Petting Zoo n’est pas seulement une installation réactive qui répond automatiquement à des stimulations ; les pieuvres peuvent modifier leur comportement, exprimer des « états d’âme » et solliciter, voire reconnaître, un visiteur.
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source: ngmchina

　一个用发光“机器动物”取代兔子和迷你山羊的抚摸动物园，已经在法国拉开帷幕。这些机器人动物拥有明亮、柔软的触须，当人抚摸时，它们会像活生生的动物一样做出反应，而且每个臂状物的特点和“个性”会根据游客的行为发生变化。

抚摸动物园是组建Minimaforms工作室的两兄弟的最新杰作，目前正在法国当代艺术中心(FRAC)进行展览。西奥多和斯蒂芬-斯皮罗普洛斯设计的这些人工智能动物，利用微软公司的Kinect传感器与参与者互动，不断学习新事物，并研究人们的行为方式。

当被抚摸时，这些机器动物会通过动作、发光和声音表现它们的“情绪”，并会随着时间推移，不断改进它们的行为，设计者称，这有助于这些宠物形成自己的“个性”。

两兄弟在公司网站上写道：“在这个拟真设施里与宠物互动，可以培养人类的好奇心和娱乐心理，随着时间推移不断加强亲密的情感交流。除了科技以外，这项设计意欲探索人与周围环境之间可用的新的沟通形式。”除了与人类进行互动外，这些机器人还能彼此进行交流。

观察内心模式能让这些宠物的动作与行为反应同步进行。其他技术有助于它们与人类之间的关系发展，避免重复行为。通过相机追踪技术和数据扫描技术，机器动物能够意识到人类的存在。实时相机流得到处理后，与“斑点追踪”和光流分析一起用来确定人的位置，并解读他们的姿势。

厌倦情绪做出反应。一群人与这些动物互动时，该系统能够识别和实时扫描这些人，寻求关注。
英国一家建筑和设计工作室打造的这项互动展会，意欲让游客产生质疑：未来环境如何产生新沟通形式。

斯蒂芬和西奥多两兄弟2002年成立Minimaforms工作室，把它作为一个试验性建筑和设计实践基地。二人探索沟通新形式，意欲通过构建“社交和物质互动”空间，推进艺术、建筑和设计的疆域。