Outerspace – Reactive Robotic Creature
by Andre Stubbe & Markus Lerner
2004–2006

www.outerspace-robot.com


Outerspace is a reactive robotic creature. Its motivation is based on curiosity, the desire to explore the surrounding space looking for contact. Touch it, play with it and watch its behaviour.

The movements of Outerspace are based on its curiosity in exploring the surrounding space. It looks for light, motion, finally contact. As he finds something interesting, this again increases its curiosity, to find out even more. The same thing happens in the mind of the observer, when he approaches the object.

The basic form is motivated by insect antennae that are able to make flexible movements in order to explore the environment. Outerspaces broad repertoire of motion actually originates from animals, both in the behavior of single organs and body language. At the same time, human gestures are part of the motion patterns of Outerspace. Formal reduction and graphical abstraction invoke a wide scope of interpretations.

The project is at the edge of art and design involving various aspects of industrial design, physical computing & artificial intelligence. It was developed on the brief “Lustobjekt”, object of pleasure and desire, in the Digital Media Class at Berlin University of the Arts 2004. It was supervised by Prof. Joachim Sauter, Prof. Frank Fietzek, Karl Heinz Jeron & Ralph Ammer.