Stelarc: Performance Artist

Dr Philip Breedon: A Project Development

Dr Sophia Lycouris: Choreographic Advisor

Stan Wiinans: Sound Design

Professor Barry Smith: Project Coordinator

This new work featuring performance artist Stelarc and a large-scale robot 'Muscle Machine' is the finale of a three-year joint research project involving The Performance Arts Digital Research Unit and Faculty of Computing, Construction and Technology at The Nottingham Trent University and The School of Cognitive and Computer Sciences at The University of Sussex.

This interdisciplinary performance project combines elements of performance art, dance and sound. The project has been researching the possibilities of creative interaction between humans and machines through the robot's engineering architecture.

Muscle-machine is a six-legged walking robot actuated by pneumatic rubber muscles. When combined with its human user it is impressive in stature, spanning 5 metres in width. Together they create an extended and impressive human-machine system.

An inner exoskeleton allows the body intuitive and interactive control of the leg movements and the direction the robot walks. As well as its mechanical and pneumatic functions amplified, additional sounds are generated using sensors monitoring the motion of the legs and transmitted by the wireless system. The sounds are composed by choreographing the movements of the machine.

Stelarc, Principal Research Fellow in the Performance Arts Digital Research Unit at The Nottingham Trent University, has 30 years’ experience exploring alternate interfaces that extend the body's capabilities. He has previously worked with prosthetics, robotics, virtual reality systems and the internet as mediums of artistic expression.