We have always been developing tools as an extension of the self to become “more efficient” and “better.” But with the rise of autonomous and robotic systems, technology is also perceived as something “other” and as a proactive counterpart. Instead of controlling we start to “co-operate” with technology. In our coexistence we ascribe almost human qualities, emotions and liveliness to our technical counterpart, but the rational machine is something else. But how might these things be designed if they evolve from passive tools to proactive and even social things? How can we shape their “thingness” beyond naïve human imitation to overcome an anthropomorphic design approach? Using examples from design education and research, the talk will focus on embodied interaction with robotic things in-between the physical and the non-physical, the rational and the irrational.
Andreas Muxel
Professor Physical Human-Machine Interfaces
Andreas Muxel is Professor for “Physical Human-Machine Interfaces” at the University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, Faculty of Design where he founded and is directing the Hybrid Things Lab. In his design practice and research he is always looking for a poetical and engaging way of interaction with things, regardless of whether they are hardware or software. His projects have been internationally published, exhibited and awarded (p.ex. ACM DIS Eindhoven, Ars Electronica Festival Linz, FILE Festival São Paulo, TodaysArt Festival Brussels, VIDA Award Madrid, Share Prize Torino).
