Defining a robot is by no means an easy task. The noun robot does not refer to one specific object; it is not based on a particular technology, activity or function and whilst certain stereotypical robot forms such as anthropomorphic pervade, other diverse and surprising configurations of technology can also be considered a robot. The definition for such a broad range of possibility is by necessity vague.

In ‘Philosophical Investigations,’ Wittgenstein approaches the subject of games: board-games, card-games, ball-games, Olympic games, and so on. He asks, ‘what is common to them all? - Don’t say: “There must be something common, or they would not be called ‘games’” – but look and see whether there is anything common to all.’ He concludes that there is not something that is common to all but ‘a complicated network of similarities overlapping and criss-crossing: sometimes overall similarities, sometimes similarities of detail.’ (Wittgenstein, 1998. P.31) Wittgenstein ultimately characterises these similarities as family resemblances.

This is helpful in terms of generating a practical understanding of robots, indeed we can begin by listing the family traits commonly associated with things robotic but still the problem of definition persists. First, unlike ‘game,’ when used as a noun in popular culture, ‘robot’ is commonly used without a qualifier, this suggests the existence of a generic notion: the mythical or iconic image of the robot. Second, unlike a game, the robot can exist simultaneously in diverse contexts and planes of reality: as a functional engineered machine operating autonomously on a production line such as an industrial robot; as a corporate vision of the future such as a humanoid robot; as a complex construct of fiction such as an android, or as a high-street product such as a robotic vacuum cleaner. And whilst the promiscuity of the generic concept of robots often leads to these worlds blurring together, the actual artefact is very poor at migrating between them: fictional robots rarely become products.

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One of the enduring objects used to represent our technological future is the robot. This legacy means that its promise has the ability to evolve in accordance with our societal and cultural dreams and aspirations, it can reflect the current state of technological development, our hopes for that technology and also our fears; fundamentally though after almost a century of media depictions and public demonstrations, the robot is yet to enter our homes and lives in any meaningful way.

The thesis behind this PhD is based on the identification of technological habitats and examining how a technology can migrate between them. More simply, questioning how technology [1.] does not, [2.] does and [3.] could become a product. The investigation uses the robot as a vehicle for the study and borrows from the science of ecology and biological concepts of evolution and domestication to draw analogies between the migration of habitats that occur when a natural organism goes through the process of artificial selection and the transition an emerging technology makes in order to become a suitable product for domestic use:

[1.] Technology does not make the transition from research laboratory (a.) to everyday domestic life (b.): Robots continue to be a symbol in popular culture for the technological future, a role they have held for over eighty years, they are however, yet to enter everyday life in any significant way. This leads to the identification of a third habitat (c.) the current destination for the majority of domestic robots: technology fairs, publicity events and research laboratory open houses. The research explores why technological depictions of the future so often fail to materialise.

[2.] Technology does make the transition from laboratory to everyday life:

I examine how an emerging technology can be adapted to everyday life through the process of domestication, comparing the journey of a renowned recipient of artificial selection (the dog) with that of a successful technological artefact (the computer).

[3.] How technology could make the transition from research laboratory to the home:

Here I describe Speculative Design, specifically how it can be used to present tangible, poignant and engaging depictions of either near-future life through the extrapolation of emerging technologies and cultural trends or alternative versions of contemporary life through the application of different ideologies or configurations to those currently directing product or technological development. By stepping out of the normative relationship that ties technological development to commercial markets and political notions of progress, speculative design opens up a space for alternative perspectives, critical reflection and examination into the implications of new technologies rather than the development of culturally untested applications.

Throughout the PhD, these theoretical investigations run parallel to the practice-based element allowing for interplay between the two. This resulted in four speculative design projects offering alternative configurations and critique of robotic technology and a suggestion of what a more domestic robot might be.

“… the story of humanity’s repeated attempts to colonise the red planet. The first men were few. Most succumbed to a disease called the great loneliness when they saw their home planet dwindle to the size of a fist. Those few who survived found no welcome on Mars. But more rockets arrived from earth, and more.

People brought their old prejudices with them – and their desires and fantasies and tainted dreams.”

Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles 

At first glance it might seem slightly odd to begin a study on robots with an excerpt from a classic science fiction short story describing the human colonisation of Mars, but in these few choice words, Ray Bradbury succeeds in humanising one of our more spectacular technological futures. Space colonisation perhaps sits alongside the robot as one of the most popular and pervasive future visions but here, in the hands of Bradbury, there is an anomaly: this is no spectacular utopian version filled with complex techno-fetishistic portrayals of perfect leisurely future lives; nor is it an apocalyptic cautionary tale warning us of how badly things can go wrong when technology is allowed to progress without constraint, the perspective most commonly taken by writers of science fiction. Bradbury simply describes a future in which we will still be people. His subtle and moving description of the colonisation of Mars reminds us that the recipients of future technologies will have the same complex needs and desires that define who and what we are today. 

In the history of their development many technologies go through an initial period of existing as a technological dream on their journey towards being either discarded and forgotten or applied in useful machines or products. The fact that after countless years of development, iteration and promise robots are still to make this transition leads to the conclusion that they are a recurring technological dream:

The science behind the Happylife project is featured on the BBC website

Robjects proposes an environment where existing domestic products are treated with elements of autonomy, intelligence, sensing and networking to create robotic objects and spaces. These adapted products not only offer labour saving opportunities that aid us in our increasingly busy lives but also intervene positively in the complex balance of domestic harmony.

Traditional labour saving devices whilst certainly saving labour still leave tasks that need to be divided. Communication and entertainment devices can be a common source of domestic dispute. The addition of a robotic layer in these situations aims to alleviate these disputes effectively making our domestic products more domestic.

At the core of this proposal are the reality and rules of the existing home, offering a palatable and logical route through which robotic technology can enter our lives and mediate our relationships with technology and each other.

Simplistic ecosystem from the perspective of the robot. The red lines suggest relationships or interactions. The diagram represents the period of creation thus facilitating a focus on the motivation behind a robots development, subsequent build and its intended projection into the outside layers. 

Referring again to the diagram below.

The products of tomorrow will be shaped and controlled by the emerging technologies of today. In their current state these technologies can be complex, chaotic, unkempt and unpredictable. Comfortable in the hands of the scientists and engineers responsible for their development but wholly unready and inappropriate for domestic application. The journey of a technology from the laboratory to the home is long and arduous but ultimately happens in quite predictable ways. The majority of products have a lineage that goes back through countless generations, each one a small iteration of the previous. By accepting this lineage, design fictions can do two things:

1. Project current emerging technological development to create Speculative Futures: Hypothetical products of tomorrow.

2. Break free of the lineage to speculate on Alternative Presents.

These fictions effectively act as cultural litmus paper, either offering tasters of how it might be to live with the technology in question or challenging contemporary applications of technology through demonstrable alternatives.

This presentation will focus on how these two types of fiction are created, how they differ from science fiction, other modes of future thinking and technological critique. More specifically how both methodologies utilise designed artefacts. What informs the development, aesthetics, behaviour, interactions and function of these objects? Once created, how and where do they operate? How can we gauge and understand their impact and meaning?

The conference will take place in Basel on 28/29 October.

At the origin we have the here and now; everyday life and the real products that are available on the high street. The lineage of these products can be traced back in time to where the technology became available to iterate them beyond their current form. The technology element on the left hand side represents research and development work, the higher the line the more emergent the technology and the longer and less predictable the route to everyday life (domestication). As we move to the right of the diagram and into futures we see that speculative design futures exist as a projection of the lineage; they are developed using a methodology that consciously focuses on contemporary public understanding and desires to make these speculations both tangible and desirable. Alternative presents step out of the lineage at some poignant time in the past to re-imagine our technological present. These designs challenge and question the existing systems and objects that arise from current modes of manufacture.

At the Impact Exhibition

facial biometric style self-portrait

device for people who are slightly under 6ft.