Prototyping a human-building interface with multiple mobile robots

Recent advances in miniature mobile robotic research have generated possibilities and potentials in a range of fields such as the military, rescue operations, logistics and education. Within architecture, especially in responsive architecture and architectural interface disciplines, there has been minimal uptake of this technology, and so its full potential and implications have not been fully explored. In this paper, we propose a design exploration of a human-building interface (HBI) with multiple mobile robots serving as ‘physical pixels’, which investigates the latent possibilities of public interactive displays and media screens, potentially provoking interaction with existing built environments. The outcomes of this paper include an early-stage design study of an HBI prototype, PixelFace, which has been developed with multiple spherical mobile robots and an existing building structure. An early physical implementation of the HBI as an interactive public display with real-time physical movement that encourages playful interaction is also included.