flocking trashcan robot

EXPRESSIVE MOVEMENT IN ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

Design Frontiers Workshop Series at the Cal Design Lab at the College of Environmental Design

at UC Berkeley

Yasuto NakanishiKeio Univ. / Stanford Univ.

http://ced.berkeley.edu/academics/summer-programs/design-frontiers-workshop-series






Various shapes of TrashCans in UC Berkeley Campus

Several Boxes look like flocking.

Flocking TrashCan Robot

To build in physical movement of otherwise inanimate spacesTo build in physical movement of otherwise inanimate spaces

what would move? trash boxes and cleanerswhy? to clean up UC Berkeley campus

How should it feel? dynamic flock like “boid” simulation

http://processing.org/examples/flocking.html



Flocking TrashCan RobotThat would make a good improvisational stage for showcasing

people’s (and robots’) expressive movements.That would make a good improvisational stage for showcasing

people’s (and robots’) expressive movements.

How should it feel? People wants to going into the flock of cleaning boids and interact with them.





Simulation of an Arduino based 3WD robotin CityCompiler, a prototyping tool using jmonkeyengine

http://www.nexusrobot.com/product.php?id_product=87






Simulation of a flock of trash box robots and cleaner robotsin CityCompiler


• With Only 3 rules, dynamic behavior emerges.

• Separation: steer to avoid crowding local flockmates

• Alignment: steer towards the average heading of local flockmates

• Cohesion: steer to move toward the average position of local flockmates

http://www.red3d.com/cwr/boids/




• Team of TrashBox robots and Cleaner robots

• one flock? or two flocks?

• ratio? : 50:50? 30:70? 70:30?

two flocks

one flock


• Interaction with People

• going away from people?

• coming near to people?

• what is good balance?


• Adding only one rule brings dynamic behavior of stopping at a person and backing to the flock.

• Just changing flocking parameters brings the balance.


Trash Box with Lid


Wire Trash Box


Google Android


Final Prototype

https://vimeo.com/70658886



EXPRESSIVE MOVEMENT IN ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

• Robot2Robot

• dynamic movement of “boid” flocking

• Human2Robot

• adding only one rule

• the body works not only as a trash box but also as a cylinder display for Processing.

flocking trashcan robot

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