The project was inspired by research robot studies, including Salto-1P. Investigating non-verbal gestural communication via exploration of a specific avenue of robot interaction became the clear direction for this study. The goal was to isolate non-verbal gestures of ear movements as they occur conversationally between animals.

Gestural Inspiration

This project aims to discover whether animalistic non-verbal gestural communication bears potential to be researched as an alternative Human-Robot Interaction. Conducted between August 2022 and December 2022, this project investigates whether there are familiar or universal kineme expressions between human and non-human entities

Robot Communication Study

Keywords

Dependable

Curious

Playful

Spontaneous

Emotive

Dependable Curious Playful Spontaneous Emotive

Sensorium

Warm

Furry

Beeswax

Faintly mulch and pine needles

Emotive

Warm Furry Beeswax Faintly mulch and pine needles Emotive

Animated Gesture Testing

A study of animated motions in Cinema4D

CAD form animation study

CAD form explorations and gesture animation studies

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Sewn together from discarded stuffed animal parts. Components include synthetic thread, miscellaneous stuffing, safety pin

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Sewn together from stuffed neumatic soft hat. Contains synthetic thread, safety pins, pipe cleaner, and miscellaneous stuffing

Conceptual body for project. Sewn together with synthetic thread, repurposed stuffed animal, miscellaneous stuffing, and safety pins

Sculpted with modeling clay, plastic spoons, and styrofoam spheres

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Sculpting Timelapse

Sculpted with modeling clay on a styrofoam sphere

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Sculpted with modeling clay and styrofoam spheres

Stopmotion Investigations

Servo Experiments

Servo experiments were conducted with a small ear-model section, created with synthetic thread, and a nail

Phase Two Project Findings

Participant Data

The findings of this project prove conclusively that certain gestural expressions are universally recognized and understood as communicating an emotional state. 100% of participants conceded that animals are emotionally expressive beings. 90% of participants stated they felt a sense of emotional communication from the images once the questionaire had been completed. Based on the data, the images had a success rate of 60% in conveying non-verbal communication. Additionally 86% of the images had their intended expression within those which scored highest, with 16% having been unrecognized by the participants.

Speculative Research: Future of Consciousness

Form and Light: B&W photography studies