Mercedes Peralta’s scientific contributions

This paper presents an exploration of movement as a design material to evidence human-machine interaction in an architectural space. An autonomous robotic vehicle with environmental sensory capabilities interacts kinetically with people by recognizing their emotional states from their body postures. A drawing device installed in the vehicle leaves a trace on the floor as a material testimony to the mutual dynamics. The complex yet surprisingly intuitive choreographic interaction of the machine and its social and physical environment blurs the boundaries between drawing, machine, and performance. In general, the project conceptualizes movement as a design material, drawing as a performative action, and social interaction as a physical force, all of which can be enhanced or mediated by digital technologies to produce results with aesthetic value.