IxLab Group Research Project: Report
Initial Idea
At the very beginning, we managed a zoom meeting to discuss the detail of the interactive invention. Many ideas came up during the discussion, from the cleaning robot to the VR device. Our requirement for the invention is quite high that hardly can an idea be approved. Firstly, the invention needs to have a high level of interaction since interaction is the priority and the essential feature of our work. Then, the invention must have a strong relationship with the sci-fi plot which will bring a more immersive experience to the audience when we are acting. In addition, to make our invention and performance more meaningful the invention has to include some educational meanings.
After a 2hrs-discussion, we’ve made the final decision to make a human-like robot to help the petrified people which follows the plot of the sci-fi story The Plague.
Design
First, is the plot design. The background setting of our invention was at the time that our humans have already controlled the virus and started to utilize it. People found that we can use the virus to achieve an infinite life for humans. Although getting infected has many troubles and pains, many people still want to get rid of the restriction of time and illness. The robot is aimed at helping these people to pass the most painful period which is the petrifaction.
Then is the function design. We’ve considered the petrified people’s needs and developed many functions for them. For instance, when the petrified people can only move their heads and eyes, the only thing they can do is take the last glimpse of the world. So the robot can move these people to the scenery site to see the scenery. We also considered the sensors on the robot. Since not all the petrified people can speak, we canceled the microphone on the robot. Instead, we use the cameras on the robot’s glasses combined with an AI vision recognition system to receive the input information. In this case, no matter which part of the body can move, the robot can all analyze the information that the user would like to express. Also, the petrifaction scanner of the robot is an essential part. The sensor can scan the silicon percentage to judge the process of petrifaction. After knowing this information, the robot can know how to help the user.
Lastly is the industrial design of the robot. Although I’m not good at painting, our group still decided to let me do the design.
[Robot Design v1]
After the design, we started to put the blueprint into practice.
Fabricate
We separate different parts of the robot and assign them to different group members. Smile said she would like to act as the robot, so all the measurements are based on her size.
Jason and I are responsible for the Helmet of the robot. To ensure that the center of gravity is above Smile’s head, we use the antenna to balance the weight distribution. To make sure that the helmet can be fixed on the head, we’ve designed a 2-layer structure. The upper layer and the lower layer can slip relatively. The user needs to adjust the range between the front head and rear head to perfectly fit the head.
While we are doing the fabrication, we also encountered some problems. We’ve only considered the length fitting but we didn’t consider the width fitting. After Smile tried the helmet on, we found it is too wide for Smile. In this case, we’ve designed a filler that is made of cardboard to decrease the inner width of the helmet.
[Other Member’s Making Process]
After everyone’s hard work, our robot has finished! It’s slightly different from the design because we need to adjust it according to the size of the cardboard and other materials.
[Final Work]
Script
We want to show the audience all 5 different stages of petrifaction, so we’ve designed 5 people acting in 5 different stages. Different people have different tasks for the robot to do and different actions. We also designed special robot-like lines for the actor to let the audience have a more immersive experience.
Here's our full script (Simplified) Role: Robot: Smile 1st stage 1 day: free to move - Sarah 2nd stage: only upper body can move - Jessie 3rd stage: only head - Chaoyue 4th stage: only eyes - Andy 5th stage: completely solidified - Jason Script: Stage1 diii…. Robot: Virus infection detected. Target Identified bibi.. Silicon Percentage:5% Body status: Free to move. No service needed. 1st: freestyle* Stage2 diii : Virus infection detected. Target Identified bibi.. Silicon Percentage:30% Body status: Legs parralyzed. What can I do for you? 2nd: shout and command verbally then lastly point to a tissue Bi receive instruction Robot: You want the tissue. Option 1- bring you the object; Option 2: bring you to the object 2nd: show 1 with finger Roger. Mission completed. Stage3 diii Robot: Virus infection detected. Target Identified bibi.. Silicon Percentage:70% Body status: Paralyzed from shoulder down. What can I do for you? 3nd: command verbally then turn your head and look at the window Action Identified. Would you like to be transported to the window? Yes, nod your head. No, shake your head. 3nd nod yes Roger. Mission Completed. Stage 4 Dii Robot: Virus infection detected. Target Identified. Bibi.. Silicon Percentage:98% Body status: Only eyes can move. What can I do for you? 4nd: Move your eyes left for 10 sec Detected Pupil Movement. Eyes looking toward left more than 10 seconds. Would you like to be transported to the left? Yes blink once, no blind twice. 4nd blinks once Roger Mission Completed. Stage 5 Robot: Dii Robot: Virus infection detected. Target Identified bibibibibibi Body Status: Completely solidified. Transferring to petrifaction community. Mission Completed. See you. THE END.
Comments
I enjoy the first group’s performance (sorry for forgetting their group name). Their interaction inventions are quite similar to our group in theoretical aspects. We all design inventions that can detect people’s infection situations. Their invention has a close relationship with the sci-fi story that we all choose. In addition, I love their performance since they’ve designed the interaction with the audience which is another kind of interaction. However, I think their design of the invention can still be improved. Although the scanner contains interaction elements, the dimension of interaction is not that various, and the level of interaction can be increased too. If they can design some other ways to interact with the scanner, or if the scanner can provide more information, their invention can be more interactive.
