Feeling Abandoned
"Stanley"


FAside

2013 -- 12x26x10"

FAtop

(click images for full scale)

Stanley is a small autonomous robot car who wanders in a space, humming tunelessly, looking for someone to hold onto. If he finds a suitable ankle he grabs hold and will not release until the ankle's owner pulls or kicks away. When that happens he responds with a disappointed sound and restarts his search. He has some decorative led flashers on top and moves at about 15cm/sec (1 foot every 2 seconds), so is unlikely to sneak up on anyone.

He is constructed in a plastic tool box with two drive wheels that allow him to move and circle in any direction. His ankle grippers on each end are spring operated, gentle in operation, and sense when they are pried apart. Above the grippers are two distance sensors that give him a fix on objects in his path. He also knows when his drive motors stall and when his box is bumped or moved in any direction. This allows him to respond to collisions with humans or other objects. He is powered by a rechargeable 12 volt battery which should last 10-12 hours at a time. The tool box handle is also fully functional.

He does not adapt as such but his range of responses is broad enough that he can be said to interact with his environment.



proof of concept



installation schematic

FAinstall


The robot wanders in any reasonably flat and smooth space. When obstacles are detected it stops and reverses direction. Any open holes should be fenced off, but there are no other requirements. If it grabs onto a non-human leg it will give up after a period of inaction and resume wandering. The battery needs to be recharged everyday, usually overnight.


Beta Test



The Backstory

Many years ago, before the dawn of home robotics, I presented a thesis exhibition towards obtaining An Aesthetic Studies degree. The professorial review of the show, enshrined in my Permanent Transcript, concluded with the phrase, "Most of the works in the show felt abandoned." Within minutes of reading this I conceptualized Feeling Abandoned as a small robot car which would wander the University Quad looking for something to hold onto. Now finally I have the motive, means, and method to implement my design.

The name Stanley is a double edged reference to the tool company of the same name, although the box is not one of their products, and to the autonomous winner of the 2005 Darpa Grand Challenge.



Stanley at Currents 2014

Feeling Abandoned was selected to inhabit Santa Fe's annual new media festival Currents. Stanley may be first fully autonomous human-interactive mobile robot to appear in an art gallery milieu. There are a couple examples of other robots, by Norman White and Simon Penny, which have similar independent behaviors but not in quite such variety. I posted a post-game analysis to this effect on my blog. But here he is at the show:

insitu

Since Currents is basically a video show the gallery floor is basically dark, so it's hard to see him wandering around. On opening night I watched him sneak up on a number of unsuspecting audience members and give them gentle hugs. He got to be a bit of a celebrity as folks tried to figure out what he was doing and how to get a hug.

And here he is on the dance floor (Synthesis, an installation by Luftwerk & Owen Clayton Condon) being tortured by a small child:
inter



::information on the bricoleur in charge::
Michael Schippling's CV
Statement


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