The exciting dance between researcher Moore and her robot
We have always supported it and we will never tire of saying it, art and technology can collaborate beautifully. Until now we had talked about painting , music , writing but never about dancing, yet even in this case the result is truly extraordinary . Proof of this possibility is provided by Dr. Merritt Moore. The California-born researcher dancer has further increased her fame for choreographing a robot by programming the movements of the robotic arm herself.
Graduated with honors in Physics from Harvard and with a PhD in Atomic and Laser Physics from the University of Oxford. But that's not all, Dr. Moore is also a professional dancer who has lent her art to the Zurich Ballet, Boston Ballet, English National Ballet and Norwegian National Ballet. And if what has been described so far seems so much, consider that Dr. Merritt Moore was awarded by Forbes in the list “30 Under 30 – Europe – Art & Culture” in 2018 and will participate in a rigorous selection of astronauts on BBC Two.
The California-born researcher dancer has further increased her fame for choreographing a robot by programming the movements of the robotic arm herself.
Birth and success of the project
But how was the project born? It all started in March, when the world was in lockdown and the vast majority of dancers had no hope of being able to follow their own. On that occasion, Dr. Moore has seen fit to choose as her dance partner a work colleague, that is, a robot . Her experimentation was developed thanks to Universal Robotics who sent her a robot with which to carry out the experimentation.
After months of work, the result of this experimentation had an extraordinary effect.
The winning key of the project is also linked to success on social networks. The video, in fact, immediately went viral, producing 15 million views ! The project will also be exhibited from December in The Kippel Project Exchange gallery in central London. Even the name of the dancer was discussed on the web, among the 200 comments that proposed Roboto Bolle or Robot Nureyev in the end the choice fell on Baryshnibot .
The experience of dancing with a robot
Furthermore, we must keep in mind the extraordinary nature of how the robot, with only 6 rotational joints, was able to replace two legs, two arms and a head in the movement phase during the dance.
“The biggest difficulty? Make the movement of the robot joints fluid "
Extensive experience in the field of professional ballet has enabled Dr. Moore to learn to keep up with her fellow dancer. In fact, the robot's response, although it may seem very fluid, can never be developed in real time .
"When the dancers in front of you can't see you, it's up to you to be in line with them"
Its secret lies in rejecting the idea that people with passions in different fields have to choose one or the other. “I really think it made me a better dancer doing physics and a better physique doing dance. You need the creative brain in the lab to think of new ideas, and you need the analytical brain in the dance studio to understand your center of mass. "
Their aim was to create a duet between a human and a robot that could spark new conversations about technology, sustain a female voice, and speak to a new audience through the voice of dance.
Who hides behind the dancer Baryshnibot
The robot chosen by Dr. Moore is a collaborative robot, whose first name is UR10e . Usually its use is well away from the stage and theaters. It is in fact a collaborative robot of 33.3 kg with six joints used essentially in the manufacturing and industrial sectors . Its aluminum structure makes it extremely light, a fundamental element for a collaborative robot. Its strengths are the intuitive programming, the versatility of use considering the possibility of using any end-effector.
Programming simplicity is guaranteed by the Polyscope graphic interface on which it is possible to program not only simple tasks to perform but an entire sequence of positions that can be replicated by having them memorized by the mechanical arm. C.
The possibilities are truly endless considering the configurable parameters such as power, momentum, stopping time and distance, elbow speed and elbow strength.
The article The exciting dance between researcher Moore and her robot comes from TechCuE .