| contact name | William Tremblay |
| art name | Bionic Log |
| art media | Wood, Steel, Latex, Electronics |
| art dimensions | Robot is 2' x 3' x 6' and installation is 10'(l) x 6'(w) x 8'(h). |
| art date | 2003 |
| art description | This is a small-human-sized wood and steel framed pneumatic robot
of simple construction and virtually no brains. It also features a
video projection of the natural environment the tree parts were found
in. It writhes and evokes strong emotional responses from viewers.
It is current on display in the Artbots show and is complete, tested,
fixable and has not been shown in Boston except at the Allston Open
Studios last year. |
| art placard | Bionic Log is a pneumatic robotic sculpture built around a section
of tree trunk. Inside the log is a bank of pneumatic valves driven
by a simple microcontroller program. These valves permit the flow
of compressed air to the actuators in the limbs of the robot, which
contract in a manner very similar to animal muscles. Although the
control mechanism is simple, the resulting motions are very recognizable
as human gestures, albeit the gestures of a confused or wounded
person. Bionic Log is an extrapolated collision of the conflicting
human imperatives of expediency and sentimentality, at once
supporting and disproving the comforting notion that technology can
solve any problem. |
| art url | http://artbots.org/2004/participants/BionicLog/ |