Sonic Constructs

In Sonic Constructs, as a fragile construction navigates through “clear” space it is interrupted by unavoidable collision, by the threshold that defines that same space. The collision (something that in robotics would be regarded as a failure to detect and avoid obstacles) causes the construction to collapse, creating an environment of fragments, debris… This environment becomes the space for kinetic and acoustic participation. A resonant metal plate acts as a surface on which the constructs operate. This works as a sound stage as well as a platform for interaction. Mechanical action is carried through by robotic devices and it is the by-product of such action that provides sonic material. As Lego pieces collide, move and scratch, a complex sonic world is orchestrated. These, sometimes microscopic sonic events become prominent and are further manipulated with real-time electronic processes.



		Sonic Constructs Interactive Sonic Robots Installation by l a u t [Pedro Rebelo, Franziska Schroeder] ++ Graham McAllistair

[picts 1 2 3 4 ] [video] [sound 1 2 3] [tech]

An installation using Lego Mindstorm robotics kit as semi-automata musical robots. Visitors participate in the work by constructing their own Lego structures which in turn become actual sound making objects. Our relation to technology is, above all, a cultural construct and can in itself suggest ways in which we participate and interact with the world. It often the case that social forces alter the functions that were the initial drive of certain technologies. Lego Mindstorms is a kit for the creation of simple robotic devices. It represents an extension of Lego’s brick metaphor onto a world of sensors, actuators and programmable behaviours.	In Sonic Constructs, as a fragile construction navigates through “clear” space it is interrupted by unavoidable collision, by the threshold that defines that same space. The collision (something that in robotics would be regarded as a failure to detect and avoid obstacles) causes the construction to collapse, creating an environment of fragments, debris… This environment becomes the space for kinetic and acoustic participation. A resonant metal plate acts as a surface on which the constructs operate. This works as a sound stage as well as a platform for interaction. Mechanical action is carried through by robotic devices and it is the by-product of such action that provides sonic material. As Lego pieces collide, move and scratch, a complex sonic world is orchestrated. These, sometimes microscopic sonic events become prominent and are further manipulated with real-time electronic processes.