SpiderCrab and the emergent object: designing for the twenty-first century

  • Authors:

  • Mick Wallis;Sita Popat;Alice Bayliss;Joslin McKinney;John Bryden;David Hogg;Matthew Godden;Rich Walker

  • Affiliations:

  • University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom;Shadow Robot Company Ltd., London, United Kingdom;Shadow Robot Company Ltd., London, United Kingdom

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 2007 conference on Designing for User eXperiences
  • Year:
  • 2007

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Abstract

This paper presents the development of the robotic prototype SpiderCrab in the context of Emergent Objects 2 (EO2), a portfolio of sub-projects funded by the EPSRC/AHRC 'Designing for the Twenty-first Century' initiative. We report first on explorations across EO2 into how performance knowledge and practice can help to understand and facilitate emergence in the context of the design process, including its outcomes. Turning to SpiderCrab, conceived of as a mediation between dancing partner and architectural environment, we report on the performance-led process undertaken by an interdisciplinary team in pursuit of performative merging between the robot and its human partner. We conclude by reflecting on the relationships between expressive and responsive modes in the conduct of design for user experience.