The Art of Robots - Bay Area Science Festival November 1, 2011

Born in the imagination of science fiction novelists, robots are now the focus of scientists and artists alike. swissnex San Francisco brings together all three disciplines to examine robotics from each perspective—and to admire the sweet spot where robotics research and robotic art coincide. Featuring Marc Atallah, Director of the Maison d’Ailleurs, the Museum of Science Fiction Utopia and Extraordinary Journeys in Yverdon, Switzerland; artist Ken Goldberg, Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at UC Berkley and Co-Founder of the Berkeley Center for New Media; Raffaello d’Andrea, Professor of Dynamic Systems and Control at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich), who shows off the Blind Juggler, a robot that keeps multiple balls bouncing without any sensory input, and also discusses his Flying Machine Arena, Distributed Flight Array, and Robotic Chair; and Bay Area artist Alan Rath, who brings his latest kinetic sculpture for audiences to enjoy. In Rath’s hands, electrical wires become nervous systems and machines sprout feathers and come alive.

Official Website: http://www.bayareascience.org