Soft robotic incarnation

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master_Peled_Avner_2019.pdf (45.33 MB)

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Volume Title

School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
Location:
P1 OPINNÄYTTEET D 2019 Peled
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Authors

Date

2019

Department

Department of Media
Median laitos

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

New Media Design and Production

Language

en

Pages

147

Series

Abstract

This thesis is a postphenomenological interrogation into the use of soft robots as mediating bodies between humans, attempting to unfetishizeheir imaginative figure of the stranger through an event I call incarnation. Based on my own encounters with Palestinians for conflict resolution and through readings of phenomenological and sociological studies, I determine the importance of the physical body, its fleshiness, nonlinearity and organic qualities for the constitution of intercorporeality - a meaningful and transformative dialog. I investigate the potential of non-human robotic avatars to achieve intercorpreality and liberate the interlocutors from prejudice and identity constraints, proposing the use of soft robots as a medium of re-embodiment that could facilitate massive scale physical incarnations and create physical encounters between people who are unable to otherwise meet in person. As a proof-of-concept, a novel method for the production of soft robotic avatars is introduced, capable of bodily haptics, language translation, and animalistic emotional expression. The avatar is operated using a web-based software platform that enables easy development of third party applications. Using this method, HITODAMA, a first prototype for a soft robotic avatar, is produced. I perform an initial evaluation of the robot in an encounter between people of different cultures, using an example app in which they get to know one another using pictures. I analyze the results by conducting interviews with the participants, following the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis.

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Supervisor

Reunanen, Markku

Thesis advisor

Muurimäki, Mia

Keywords

soft robotics, phenomenology, postphenomenology, conflict resolution, intercorporeality, embodiment, materiality, computer-human interaction

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201912086367

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[master] Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu / ARTS