mjnewman LookingOutwards-03, Section A

SILK PAVILION from Mediated Matter Group on Vimeo.

MIT Media Lab’s Mediated Matter group (Neri Oxman, Jorge Duro-Royo, Markus Kayser, and Jared Laucks) created a structure that naturally and robotically mimicked the weaving patterns of silk worms. They initially started by tracking individual silkworms’ movements by attaching small magnets to their heads. The data and movements collected from those sessions were then translated into code so that a robot arm could weave different simplified versions across 26 panels that would eventually be formed into an elevated dome. However, they tie back in their original inspiration for the last step by putting the silkworms back on the threaded structure and integrating their natural silk. That is probably what I admire the most, the fact that they took the next step and incorporated silkworms after they could have easily stopped and left it at the threaded structure.

In terms of algorithms, they used the tracked movements of the silkworms and translated that into a single route the CNC machine would trace with a single white thread. But incorporating the silkworms as the last step really changed the final form and emphasizes the creator’s artistic intention of magnifying the silkworm phenomenon.

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