The robotics artists Adrianne Wortzel and Catie Cuan have begun their dual residencies at Thoughtworks.

Adrianne has been exploring the expressive potential of the non-humanoid MekaMon, manufactured by Reach Robotics. During her residency, Adrianne will be initiating a project to develop a social and psychotherapeutic tool for nonverbal expression through gesture.

Both artists gave a webcast presentation to Thoughtworks global last week, outlining their project ambitions. After the call, employees from all regions have the opportunity to volunteer some time to work with the artists in support of their projects.

Following the call, Catie visited our partners at the Consortium for Research & Robotics in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. There she learned about the control algorithms that drive their ABB IRB 6700 industrial robot, as well as the data which can be produced representing it’s motions.

Catie is interested in extracting the data so that it can be used in performance, and as part of a movement-based Turing test.

This week the artists are building teams and working with team members to target specific tasks. The projects are in experimental stages, which will be refined and progressed as the summer residency progresses.