http://amorphicrobotworks.org/interactive-birds
The Interactive Birds installation by Chico MacMurtrie at Amorphic Robot Works uses Inflatable Robots to create the wing-like structures of birds. What I find cool about this installation is the concept and the underlying theme that influenced the programming, rather than the actual installation itself. The “birds” are made using white fabrics that hang limp initially and then inflate by sensing viewers in the room, leading into a slow flapping motion through pneumatic actuation. But if viewers encroach upon the space excessively, the birds become “infected” and begin to corrupt the others, leading to premature death. I thought this was a fitting theme to signify how human intervention affects life cycles in nature.
Here are some other interesting links of soft robotic artwork that I found during this process:
- Exo-biote: https://3dprint.com/93771/soft-robotics-exo-biote/
- Soft Robotics and Posthuman Entities: https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/549014/605906/50
- Inflatable breathing: https://www.designboom.com/technology/inflatable-sculpture-soft-robotics-breathing-pulse-mateo-fernandez-01-04-2023/