Exercise: Unusual Mobility Part 1: Idea

The main objective of this exercise is to identify a novel mode of expressive mobility which could be rendered using a machine.

This concept should non-anthropomorphic and not involve a conventional wheeled structure.

Deliverables

  1. A Google Doc with a brief paragraph describing your movement concept, submitted to the appropriate shared folder.

  2. Several hand-drawn sketches representing the movement concept and the physical form which might render it, submitted as image or drawing files. It’s premature to use CAD; these are ideas, not designs.

Exercise: Unusual Mobility Part 2: Precedent

For this exercise I would like everyone to look outside the existing course resources to find other work related to your mobility concept. The disciplinary scope is open, you are welcome to choose projects which identify as art, design, performance, products, or research as per your interests.

Please consider the following attributes:

Process

Please explore both online and library resources to find another project which can provide insight into generative robot performance. Please consider the following general prompts:

  • What is the balance of expression between behavior and form?

  • What feature of the work could we specifically evolve into our own technique?

  • What details of the artwork or concept are not immediately apparent and how do they inform the work?

  • Are there closely related works?

Deliverables

Please post a brief slideshow to the appropriate shared folder and be prepared to make a few comments in an informal in-class discussion.

Please include the following:

  • one-sentence synopsis of the result

  • a brief analysis of the behavior

  • links to additional sources, if online

  • images or an embedded video, if available

Exercise: Unusual Mobility Part 3: Kinematics

Let’s return to the main objective of this exercise to consider the potential for simulation. You may continue with your previously described idea or develop one, as long it involves a novel mode of expressive mobility which could be rendered using a machine.

The first task is to identify a simulated rigid-body maquette which would provide useful insight for your design. This involves decide on the scope of the purpose of the simulation. I recommend focusing on the essential movement and distilling that task into a simplified design.

The second task is to formalize your simplified model into a kinematic tree description of bodies and joints.

References: Robot Simulation Design, Webots Modeling.

Deliverables

Please post your sketches to the appropriate shared folder and be prepared to make a few comments in an informal in-class discussion.

Please include:

  1. a revised overall sketch showing the machine concept

  2. a schematic tree diagram identifying the relationships between root body, joints, and distal bodies, including meaningful names for each element

  3. a coordinate system diagram for each body showing the local coordinate system, the joint vectors and reference points, the estimated center of mass location, and critical dimensions in millimeters

Exercise: Unusual Mobility Part 4: Simulation

For this phase of the assignment you will create a Webots simulation model of your machine concept.

The best model is the one you can borrow. Constructing a model entirely from scratch can be a lot of work, it is usually simpler to modify an existing design. Please look through the existing Webots models to find an example with the most similar kinematics. The scope includes both the course models under Webots Robot Simulator and the online model library at webots.cloud.

The simulation model will include the rigid bodies sized to an appropriate scale; joints aligned and positioned; body geometry and appearance; and physics and contact properties. You will need some minimal control script to test motion.

Considerations

  1. The key objective is to create a model ready for choreographic exploration of the dynamic motion.

  2. For modest changes, it will probably be easier to edit the scene tree using the GUI. If you are starting from a model based on a proto file, it can be expanded into base nodes and will then be fully defined in the .wbt world file.

  3. If you prefer to edit the .proto file, I recommend using a syntax-aware programming editor.

  4. You will need at least a minimal Python controller script to test that joint axes move as intended.

  5. I recommend using geometric primitive shapes wherever possible (e.g. boxes, cylinders, capsules). This will be simpler to manage than CAD-defined meshes (e.g. .stl files).

Deliverables

  1. The individual Webots model files. This is at minimum a .wbt world file, and possibly a .proto robot definition and auxiliary model or appearance files.

  2. A screen-capture image showing the geometry.

Exercise: Unusual Mobility Part 5: Performance

The objective of this exercise is to discover new and surprising movement potential with the simulated machine, much as you might do experimenting with a physical prototype.

Please note that the final objective is implementation in physical hardware, not just graphics, so we are not interested in outcomes which are physically implausible. Results which are out of scope might include simulation glitches, contact model violations, unrealistic gravity, etc. That said, overly optimistic motor power or friction might still provided useful results with some This.

The strongest results will produce movements which primarily depend on physical form and dynamics rather than complex programming. These will have legibility and invoke body empathy using the physical intuition of the viewer.

Deliverables

  1. A Google Doc with a brief paragraph describing your key choreographic discoveries, submitted to the appropriate shared folder.

  2. The individual Webots model files. This is at minimum a .wbt world file, a .py controller script, and possibly a .proto robot definition and auxiliary model or appearance files.

  3. Short video clip (less than 60 seconds) of robot performance, uploaded to the Google Shared Drive and included as a link within the document.