Nicholas Stedman�s Blanket is a robotic sculpture in the form of a blanket that crawls around a space, finds people there and crawl over to and on top of them, “like a pet.”

The blanket is equipped with a wireless transceiver, a PIC microprocessor, and a camera to detect bodies in that space and beam the data to the blanket which will then scuttle across to detected objects. Each part of the blanket’s skeleton is fitted with a pressure sensor enabling it to respond to physical movement from the people it envelops.

The artist collaborated with Rhya Tamasauskas to present Tribot (video) at Artbots , a Robot Talent Show that will take place on September 17, 18, & 19 in New York.

This “alien companion” attempts to blindly navigate through a given space. For ArtBots, the artists will take Tribot on a walk through parts of New York City and document the event. The artists’ aim is to try to generate social interaction with the machine.

From Grand Text Auto, via Interactive Media Division Weblog.
Related entry: The Robot Talent Show.