Humanoid robots on European tour Robots in Residence-Programme

© Lena Ziyal
By Jeannette Neustadt
There are scholarship holders who travel in a rather unusual, almost mysterious way. They travel inconspicuously from country to country in a hardside suitcase by post. In the summer of 2020, the Goethe-Institut sent two of these residency artists on an exploratory tour through Europe. Despite Covid-19, they cross borders unhindered and guest in a different city each month. On arrival, they may first have to be freed from their bubble wrap, lifted out of their suitcases and switched on, but then they enter into an immensely interesting dialogue with their outside world - beyond a purely human understanding.We're referring to GAIA and NaoMi, two robot ladies who are to illustrate the relationship between humans and machines in a variety of cultural contexts as part of Robots-in-Residence. They got their names in Rome and Budapest. GAIA stands for “Generazione Algoritmo Intelligenza Artificiale” - “Generation Algorithm Artificial Intelligence”. NaoMI is derived from the model name of the robot. The dark grey, approx. 60 cm tall and slightly more than 5 kg heavy NAO 6 is now the sixth generation of the interactive humanoid robot NAO, developed by the Japanese-French company SoftBank Robotics. It is in use worldwide and serves primarily as a research object for educational institutions. Its 25 degrees of movement make communication with NAO seem particularly natural. The robot has various sensors as well as modules for speech, object and face recognition and speaks several languages



As human-like machines continue to be developed, the cultural context in which they operate will play an increasingly important role. “Social” robotics requires cultural expertise that engineers and coders do not necessarily have. The collaboration of philosophers, artists and developers is a very promising approach here, as is a playful approach to a topic that is absolutely crucial for the future.
Tour
NaoMI and GAIA will travel through Europe and beyond from June 2020 to September 2021. The following stops are planned for 2021: Bucharest, Riga, Skopje, Dublin, Lyon, Tashkent, Kyiv, Copenhagen, and Rotterdam. In October 2021, the robot ladies will be evaluated by the RoboticLab of TH Wildau and their abilities analysed before they leave for Dresden in November - for the concluding festival of “Generation A=Algorithm” at the German Hygiene Museum.Pictures, videos and information about previous tour stops:
⇒ Bratislava – Slovakia
⇒ Bremen – Germany
⇒ Bucharest – Romania
⇒ Budapest – Hungary
⇒ Copenhagen – Denmark
⇒ Dublin – Ireland
⇒ Glasgow – Scotland
⇒ Groningen – Netherlands
⇒ Lyon – France
⇒ Milan – Italy
⇒ Munich – Germany
⇒ Prague – Czech
⇒ Riga –Latvia
⇒ Rome – Italy
⇒ Rotterdam – Netherlands
⇒ Warsaw – Poland