Robots are conventionally programmed to avoid all physical contact with humans. But what if collision, rather than being an accident, became a mode of interaction in its own right? Starting from a fundamental observation that our bodies learn and communicate through touch, adjustment, and confrontation with the physical environment, interaction designer Anna Schäffner and dancer Michela Filzi have collaborated to reframe how we perceive and engage with existing robotic systems. Their process draws on dance’s influence on robot design, exploring what emerges when movement and machine meet.

This project invites participants to discover a new perspective on human-robot coexistence through embodied exploration guided by contact improvisation. You will be invited to enter into a soft collision with a robot, experiencing firsthand how its material qualities can shape and transform our relationship to it.

This event is made possible by the Strategic Partnership Funding of Humboldt-Universität and TORCH, University of Oxford. 

Please find more information and the registration link here.