Rhythm Apparatus on Overhead

In this paper I present a robotic device that offers new ways of interaction for producing rhythmic patterns. The apparatus is placed on an overhead projector and a visual presentation of these rhythmic patterns is delivered as a shadow play. The rhythmic patterns can be manipulated by modifying the environment of the robot, through direct physical interaction with the robot, by rewiring the internal connectivity, and by adjusting internal parameters. The theory of embodied cognition provides the theoretical basis for this device. The core postulate of embodied cognition is that biological behavior can only be understood through an analysis of the real-time interactions of an organism’s nervous system, the organism’s body and the environment. The device illustrates this theory because the rhythmic patterns depend equally on the real-time interactions of the electronics, the physical structure of the device and the environment.