Tender Robotics is an ongoing project I lead through the Institute for Experiential Robotics, in collaboration with partner organizations including Choreotech and the Robotics, Automation and Dance Lab. Tender Robotics examines the significance of social ethics through embodied engagements in human-computer interaction (HRI) for aesthetic ends, drawing on my partnering research in contemporary and social dance practices (e.g. contact improvisation, Fusion dance, Latin/ballroom). My concept of aesthetic emerges from the work of John Dewey, who shifts the focus from beauty and pleasure to meaningful experience. Considering the aesthetic ends of human-robot interaction allows the possibility of transcending a singular focus on efficiency and safety, without sacrificing these values as crucial for practice and progress. 

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My feelings toward emerging technology are always mixed. On the one hand, I have a fascination with new gadgets and the way they inspire curiosity and play. On the other hand, I tend to abhor sensational accounts of technology, especially those that inspire worry and fear. Whether we embrace seemingly intelligent machines or not, I believe in the power of nurturing empathetic and compassionate relationships with technology - at the very least, because of the power in orienting toward the world with compassion. 

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Publications:

"Tender Robotics" (forthcoming). Routledge. 

"What Falling Robots Reveal About the Absurdity of Human Trust". Psyche Magazine.

"Can a Robot Do A Trust Fall?" Computational Creativity.

"Choreographic and Somatic Approaches for the Development of Expressive Robotic Systems". Arts, MDPI.

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