Making Meaning with Machines : Somatic Strategies, Choreographic Technologies, and Notational Abstractions Through a Laban/Bartenieff Lens

A rigorous primer in movement studies for designers, engineers, and scientists that draws on the fields of dance and robotics. How should a gestural interface react to a “flick” versus a “dab”? Versus a “punch”? Should robots reach out to a human counterpart with a direct, telescoping action or through a circuitous arc in space? Just as different movements express the different internal states of human movers, so too can the engineered systems behind robots. In Making Meaning with Machines , Amy LaViers and Catherine Maguire offer a refreshingly embodied approach to machine design that supports the growing need to make meaning with machines by using the field of movement studies, including choreography, somatics, and notation, to engage in the process of designing expressive robots. Drawing upon the Laban/Bartenieff tradition, LaViers and Maguire sharpen the movement analysis methodology, expanding the material through their work with machines and putting forward new conventions, such as capitalization, naming, and notation schemes, that make the embodied work more legible for academic contexts. The book includes an overview of movement studies, exercises that define the presented taxonomy and principles of movement, case studies in movement analysis of both humans and robots, and state-of-the-art research at the intersection of robotics and dance. Making Meaning with Machines is a much-needed primer for observing, describing, and creating a wide array of movement patterns, which ultimately can help facilitate broader and better design choices for roboticists, technologists, and designers. Contents Preface Acknowledgments Electronic Resources Prelude: Opening with Embodied Perspectives Introduction: Inviting Engineers into Movement Studies Delving into Somatics, Choreography, Notation, and Machines A Growing Community at the Intersection of Robotics and Dance (Whom This Book Is For) Meaning-Making with Machines (What This Book Is About) “Dancing, Happy Robots” (What This Book Is Not About) An Introduction to the Bodies That Wrote This Book The Value of Personal, Bodily Experience I. Making Meaning through Movement 1. Noticing Movement: Meaning, Measurement, and Experience 1.1 Meaning-making 1.2 Movement as Quantitative, Objective Events 1.3 Movement as a Qualitative, Subjective Experience 1.4 Kinesthetic Attunement through the Act of Recording Chapter Summary 2. Studying Movement: Somatics, Choreography, and Notation 2.1 Strategies from Somatics 2.2 Tools (Technologies) from Choreography 2.3 Abstractions from Notational Systems Chapter Summary 3. Constructing Movement: Somatic Strategies, Choreographic Technologies, and Notational Abstractions through a Laban/Bartenieff Lens 3.1 Historical Overview 3.2 Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies: The BESST System 3.3 Using Embodiment as a Process of Inquiry Embodied Exercises Chapter Summary II. Describing Movement with an Embodied Taxonomy: The BESST System 4. What Is Moving? The Interconnection of Body Parts and Action (Body) 4.1 The Body as a Container Embodied Exercises 4.2 Finding a Neutral Baseline Embodied Exercises 4.3 Basic Body Actions Embodied Exercises 4.4 Body Fundamentals Embodied Exercises 4.5 Application to Machines: Generating Artificial Gait Embodied Exercises 4.6 Exploring the Themes: Body through the Lens of Stability/Mobility Embodied Exercises Chapter Summary 5. Where Is the Movement? Spatial Fiducials for Movement (Space) 5.1 Approach to the Kinesphere Embodied Exercises 5.2 Spatial Pulls and Platonic Solids Embodied Exercises 5.3 Movement Scales Embodied Exercises 5.4 Application to Machines: Generating Humanlike Telepresence Embodied Exercises 5.5 Exploring the Themes: Space through the Lens of Function/Expression Embodied Exercises Chapter Summary 6. When Is the Movement Happening? The Temporal Perception of Movement (Time) 6.1 Sequencing Embodied Exercises 6.2 Duration, Tempo, and Rhythm Embodied Exercises 6.3 Phrasing Embodied Exercises 6.4 Application to Machines: Perceived versus Actual Safety Embodied Exercises 6.5 Exploring the Themes: Time through the Lens of Exertion/Recuperation Embodied Exercises Chapter Summary 7. For Whom Is the Movement? The Relationship between Mover and Environment (Shape) 7.1 Foundational Arrangements of the Body in Space Embodied Exercises 7.2 Modes of Shape Change Embodied Exercises 7.3 Shape Qualities Embodied Exercises 7.4 Application to Machines: Expressivity in Natural and Artificial Systems Embodied Exercises 7.5 Exploring the Themes: Shape through the Lens of Self/Other Embodied Exercises Chapter Summary 8. How Is the Movement Executed? Movement Quality Enables Shading of Motion (Effort) 8.1 Basic Effort Actions Embodied Exercises 8.2 Effort (or Motion) Factors Embodied Exercises 8.3 States and Drives Embodied Exercises 8.4 Affinities between Components Embodied Exercises 8.5 Application to Machines: Simulating Effort for Advertisement of Internal State Embodied Exercises 8.6 Exploring the Themes: Effort through the Lens of Inner/Outer Embodied Exercises Chapter Summary III. Translating Movement to Machines 9. Deconstructing Movement: Case Studies in Expression (Answering “Why?”) 9.1 The Duality between Embodiment and Intelligence 9.2 Expressive Moving Bodies 9.3 Expressive Sensing and Perceiving Bodies 9.4 Expression in the Environment 9.5 A Model for Expression and Meaning-making Chapter Summary 10. Notating Movement: Advanced Analysis through Symbolic Representation 10.1 Types of Movement Recording and Systematic Notation 10.2 Introduction to Motif 10.3 What Is Up with Imitation? 10.4 Suggesting Stricter Conventions for Motif with Machines 10.5 Exercises in Recording and Notating Movement Chapter Summary Conclusion: Understanding Movement Creating Harmony between Humans and Machines Remaining Questions A Crucial Body of Expertise Outro: Returning to Embodied Perspectives Appendix A: Symbols in the BESST System Appendix B: Movement Scales Embodied Exercises Appendix C: Effort Configurations Embodied Exercises Appendix D: Rationale for the Time Component Appendix E: Pedagogy and Group Work E.1 University Courses at the Intersection of Movement Studies and Technology Design E.2 Movement Workshops on the BESST System Embodied Exercises Glossary Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Appendix B References Index "Using a well-known and successful dance and performance method, the authors describe how avatars and robots can be designed to be more comfortable with these technologies"-- Provided by publisher