Colony residency: iterations and combinations

The current Colony residency at the Pervasive Media Studio has a chunk of time for laser cutting in the middle. That’s where I am now: learning to use the laser cutter; improving my understanding of the physics and mechanics I want to harness to make the creatures move; and – what’s really interesting – getting new insights into the whole undertaking through having physical objects to interact with.

For this bit I also have Sarah Barnes to interact with, which is feeding in lots of other lovely references and observations!

Using the laser cutter we’ve been able to quickly cycle through several iterations of different elements to the creature structures.

The heartbeat – which will be used to indicate panic levels – was, two weeks ago, a solenoid glue-gunned to a cardboard box. In 6 days’ worth of laser cutting it’s gone from

heartbeat v00: solenoid glued to a cardboard box

via

first attempt at a solenoid mount: it looks so clunky now!

and

heartbeat v01: a much more lightweight structure, pressing rather than tapping

to this much smaller and lighter design:

heartbeat v04: scaled-down framework suitable – I hope! – for attaching to spine vertebrae.

The last week has been all about the spine, though. On Wednesday we attached a ‘tail’ to a servo and were able to see the combination articulating by themselves for the first time (prior to this it had been me tugging on a string).

After spending Thursday morning wrestling with how to skin the structure, we eventually decided that perhaps we didn’t need to and I embarked on preparing the files for a ‘body’ section that would be constructed in the same way as the tail. No laser cutting got done that day.

… but a lot got done on Friday, resulting in this little beauty!

Well, I say ‘little’, but it is kind of huge:

The new torso section joined onto the articulating tail

I have a few concerns about weight, and the consequences of this when the creatures are carried around for a significant amount of time, but the large size of the skeleton is proving to be very interesting in terms of how you relate it to your own body as you wrap it around yourself. It’s very similar to a process of stepping into a role and almost ritualistic as you become one with the structure. We’re now thinking that using a fabric poncho or sling tactic will work well for supporting some of the weight and also bonding you even more to the creature for which you will be a guardian.

Our little forays outside to take photos are also highlighting the creatures’ potential for catalysing stranger:stranger interactions as, even on a deserted summer campus, this one has already initiated conversations with several people who stop to ask questions as they pass by!

I’m really happy with the way all this is evolving: there’s a satisfying balance between proof of concept that I’ve been holding in my imagination for several years, mixed in with delightful little discoveries of the unexpected.