Nurturing Emergent Synthetic Life
DIRECTOR : Nicole Koltick ENGINEER : Mike Hogan
PRINCIPAL DESIGN & FABRICATION : Elena Sabinson & Jay Hardman
NESL (Ecology) envisions a habitat for non-humanity, exploring the poetic potentials of a new artificial species by giving them the means to create their own environment.
We have developed a synthetic landscape of engineered crystals, where nature is derived from data, and nurturing robot gardeners cultivate their own environment. A colony of robots networked to each other and their habitat will seed and grow the delicate crystal structures that make up the landscape. The robots and terrain encompassed in this project put forward a novel approach to autonomous systems and aesthetics; posing questions about ethics, empathy and the creative usage of robots and artificial intelligence in the future.
1st Prize Winners at the ROS film festival 2016 in the Category of Real Robots
The synthetic landscape breathes through a system of silicone bladders. Its surface forms pools which are programmed to produce a saturated solution. NESL places the paper seed into the pools. The geometry of the seeds is optimal for producing robust crystal formations. The bladders fill and distribute the crystals. The cycle repeats again.
LANDSCAPE
What can we learn from a nurturing synthetic ecology?
Full scale prototype
SPECULATIVE INSTALLATION AT STOREFRONT FOR ART AND ARCHITECTURE
SALT CRYSTALS
Robot chooses Crystal Seed based on specific color parameters.
crystal genotype
initial growth
cystal phenotypes
crystals after displacement