Workshop: Interacting Robots in Everyday Lives: Artistic Perspectives

On Flying and Sonic Robots: Interacting Bodies and Sonic Atmospheres in Human-Robot Interaction
This talk examines human-robot interaction through a sociological lens, drawing on preliminary find-ings from a research project on the use of (autoomous) drones in the performing arts. It investigates what unfolds when drones become co-performers, turning the stage into a site of technoscientific ex-perimentation. The work of Moritz Geist with sonic robots offers a parallel exploration of robotic agency in musical contexts. Framed by the material turn in the humanities and social sciences, the talk addresses questions of (non)human agency. The presentation investigates how heterogeneous bodies—human and robotic—co-create space, sound, and experience in the performing arts and considers how artistic practices become laboratories for rethinking everyday encounters with autonomous systems.

Matthias Wieser is Associate Professor at the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria. Trained in Sociology and Cultural Studies.

Cyborg Identities: Living Machines and Otherness
Living machines in art and design extend to other forms of intelligence by mimicking, employing, and drawing attention to neglected companions. They also embrace new materialism and feminist posthumanist theories. These machines embody cyborg identities, which, as Haraway (1991) explains, 'do not dream of communities on the model of the organic family but rather encourage a plasticity of identity to highlight the socially imposed limitations'. They therefore contribute to the development of a posthuman coexistence.

Fara Peluso is a bioartist, speculative designer and researcher. With a strong interest in Biology, she pursues a deep research on living organisms like microalgae, lichen and fungi, enquiring into their poetics and agency through a speculative design methodology.

Entangled on Stage: The Robot as Performer, The Robot as Performance
In the intersection of art and technology, performing with robots presents a unique fascination, as the role of the performer is distributed between human and machine. This shared authorship and agency reflect a deeper, more intricate relationship—one that mirrors the evolving entanglements between humans and robots, humans and AI, and other life-simulating technologies in everyday life. Centering on the robot’s corporeality and the concept of techno-parenthood, the research explores the layered dynamics of these relationships and the collaborative artistic agency embedded in robotic media art performance, specifically highlighting impactful soft robotic performance.

Andrea Tesanovic is a PhD researcher whose work emerges at the nexus of robotics, science fiction literature, media art and performance, and the sociology of life-like technologies. 

The Sounds of Softness: Robot Materialities, Imaginaries, and Sound
In this short talk, I will discuss elements of our work on the robot SONŌ. SONŌ began its life as a re-search prototype created to explore the potential of adding sound to soft robotics (robotics technolo-gies constructed from pliable and elastic materials). The work started from a simple and open ques-tion - what does a soft robot sound like? It branched off to involve a diverse set of activities including studying cultural sonic imaginaries, conducting empirical human-robot interaction studies, and developing an exhibited robotic artwork.

Jonas Jørgensen is Associate Professor at the SDU Biorobotics (University of Southern Denmark) and co-director of the SDU Soft Robotics research laboratory www.jonasjoergensen.org.

When and where:
8 October 2025 from 13:00-16:00
DIAS Seminar Room, SDU Odense