As part of the Pilar ASAP Festival – The Posthuman Edition, we are pleased to present a conversation exploring, from the point of view of artists and scientists, what might be the future of collaboration between humans and robots.

This talk is presented in the framework of the Sustainable Robotics artists residency, organised by Ohme in collaboration with BrIAS – Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies, and FARI Institute for AI for the common good.

Artists Dewi Brunet and Kris Verdonck, both selected for the residency, will present their projects and their practices at the border between art and robotics, in conversation with Franziska Kirstein and Professor Barry Lennox, international robotics experts from the BrIAS 2024 programme.

Dewi Brunet is a folding artist interested in the sensitive relationship between the living world and robots. This practice is part of the field of Oribotics, a fusion of nature, origami and robotics.

Kris Verdonck explores the societal and ecological impacts of technological advances with a multidisciplinary approach that blends theatrical and visual elements to create unique artistic expressions.

Franziska Kirstein has worked in interdisciplinary teams in the field of Human-Robot Interaction since 2012. Her work combines the robotics industry with academic research in international collaborations, focusing on sustainability in robotics.

Barry Lennox is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Professor of Applied Control and Decommissioning in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Manchester (UK). He chairs the UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems Network.

The conversation will take place in English.