Dramaturgy for Devices: taking a closer look at human-robot interaction

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7 October 2024

Robots are an increasingly prominent part of our daily lives. They help provide medical care and support in education and in the workplace. They are increasingly capable of performing simple tasks and conveying messages, but they also lack many skills needed for interaction and communication.

In the research project Dramaturgy for Devices, researchers and artists in the field of robotics and theatre are working together to develop the behaviour and communication skills of robots.

"It's great that in this project we are able to work with partners from the theatre field on a long-term basis. They have a wealth of knowledge and skills that can be used to make interactions between humans and robots not only better and more effective, but also more imaginative, fun, interesting and challenging. Moreover, theatre is a fantastic tool for exploring and questioning imaginary futures with robots," says professor and project leader Maaike Bleeker (Utrecht University). From VU Amsterdam, AI researchers Anita Vrins, Koen Hindriks, and Mike Ligthart are involved.

Collaboration between scientists and theatre and dance creators
Dramaturgy for Devices is the first project to bring the worlds of theatre and dance to robotics on this scale to refine human-robot interaction. Theatre and dance creators are collaborating to develop more social robots in this cross-disciplinary research project. The project shows how the performing arts can contribute to innovative design tools and methods and the value of theatre practice for technological innovation. Conversely, the project explores opportunities for robotics in theatre.

This month, the research of four PhD students from the University of Utrecht, TU Delft, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and University of Twente will start.

Research-in-progress
Over the next four years, audiences can attend experiments from Dramaturgy for Devices' research live. To start with, theatre company Ulrike Quade Company in collaboration with tech-incubator Yes!Delft will present their research-in-progress on 11 and 12 October. They do so in Spot x Kafka: a theatrical exploration of man and technology, of the power of the SPOT robot (Boston Dynamics) in a theatrical context.

Together with Bram Ellens, the researchers are hosting the opening of Utrecht University's AI event Beyond Technology on 26 November. There, Ellens will show scenes from his performance Robot of the Rummelmarkt, premiering 3 January 2025 at the Concertgebouw.

During the Innovation:Lab event Ctrl+Alt+Play 2024, the audience can interact with service robot Rober .