Chairness of a Chair

robotic furniture to explore otherware / 2022

Teamproject 5th semester at University of Applied Sciences, Augsburg.

university

University of Applied Sciences, Augsburg  

 

links

https://sichtraum.hs-augsburg.de/2021/chairness-of-a-chair/

 

„Chairness of a Chair“ irritates the relationship between human and furniture. The behavior of self-driving robotic chairs speculates about new relations of object and subject. 

 

How would everyday situations change if ordinary chairs could move autonomously? What if a chair turns away during a conversation? What if a chair drives me to a stranger? What if a chair took control without being asked? In collaboration with the Experience & Interaction Design group! of the University of Siegen, the project explores the interaction between humans and proactive objects. The aim is to gain further insights into new forms of interaction with technology as otherware.

 

Humans and technology have different relationships. We often think of technology as a mainly functional tool. However, more and more technologies evolve such as domestic or social robots, that imply a fundamentally different relationship between human and technology. How do we shape the technical counterpart and what emerges from this new relationship? How does this change our behavior and where can proactive technology create positive scenarios? Robotic chairs are used to speculate future scenarios. For this purpose, a mobile robot platform was developed that enables a playful exploration of these questions. 

 

students

Michael Wagner, Matthias Sirch, Lena Krause, Jane Nathania, Pia Obermaier

 

supervisors

Prof. Andreas Muxel und Elias Naphausen

 

in collaboration with

University of Siegen: Dr. Matthias Laschke und Robin Neuhaus, https://www.experienceandinteraction.com/