The Center for Counter-Productive Robotics

The Center for Counter-Productive Robotics

In this day and age, robots are presented as the embodiment of precision, speed and efficiency. And they are: working relentlessly, day and night on factory floors around the world, churning out goods faster than ever. As a consequence their practical use is mostly limited to capitalistic logics expecting return on investment, or academic logics expecting research publications. The Center for Counter-Productive Robotics is an island where these concerns are thrown out of the window, and robots are deliberately approached with failure, laziness and clumsiness in mind. In this way the center develops a more human-centric approach to robotics.

Workshop (2018) by Antoine Barras, Maya Bellier, Pablo Bellon, Ivan Chestopaloff, Bastien Claessens, Guillaume Giraud, Léonard Guyot, Evan Kelly, Lisa Kishtoo, Kylan Luginbühl, Paul Lëon, Aurélien Pellegrini, Yael Sidler

Know-how
Tangible Interaction, soft goods / accessories, Robotics, Electronics
Counter-Productive-Robotics00001-1600x1000.jpg
Counter-Productive-Robotics00003-1600x1000.jpg
Counter-Productive-Robotics00005-1600x1000.jpg
Counter-Productive-Robotics00009-1600x1000.jpg
Counter-Productive-Robotics00004-1600x1000.jpg
Counter-Productive-Robotics00006-1600x1000.jpg
Counter-Productive-Robotics00002-1600x1000.jpg

Projects related to Robotics

Malik Sobgoui – Oblique Reasoning

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Malik Sobgoui – Oblique Reasoning

with Alain Bellet, Christophe Guignard, Gaël Hugo, Laura Nieder, Pauline Saglio

Nowadays, almost all of us have adopted the unconscious reflex of pulling out our smartphone when we are faced with some form of loneliness or passivity. Hence, it has become difficult for us to cope with waiting without the help of our cell phones. The aim of Oblique Reasoning is to invite users to question notions of attention economy and FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) while offering, in the manner of Oblique Strategies, reflections and alternatives. By recording unread notifications and quantifying them in units of time, this portable device offers us the possibility to step back and rethink our relationship with the smartphone.

Maxime Castelli – Nelson

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Maxime Castelli – Nelson

with Alain Bellet, Cyril Diagne, Christophe Guignard, Gaël Hugo

Nelson is a tiny connected module designed to to bring everyday objects to life remotely. It’s based on a very simple forwards and backwards movement as we do in our everyday life, like pushing a switch. Connected to the internet it triggers setups previously defined by the user. Designed and built with the help of designer Arthur Didier, this project is the completion of my studies, working in most of the fields of interaction design and industrial design to mix both towards an innovative creation.

Nora Fatehi – Mirror Me-rror

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Nora Fatehi – Mirror Me-rror

with Alain Bellet, Christophe Guignard, Gaël Hugo, Laura Nieder, Pauline Saglio

In an environment where the line between digital and tangible is becoming increasingly thin, having an existence in immaterial spaces implies shaping and maintaining an avatar that is often created in one’s own image. Living in these in-between worlds inevitably leads to the development of a more or less strong connection with one’s own digital representations. This is notably the case of my own avatar, with whom I share more than just a well-defined clothing style.  In Mirror Me-rror, she and I become one. By using my physical and digital data to influence her abilities as my “virtual self”, I find myself constantly connected to her. With this project, I question the relationship that each of us nurtures with our digital identities and offer a gamified perspective of our own lives.

Jamy Herrmann – MEMOGRAM

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Jamy Herrmann – MEMOGRAM

with Alain Bellet, Christophe Guignard, Gaël Hugo, Laura Nieder, Pauline Saglio

Today, for many, the memories that remain are only those of images taken with digital cameras. Through this continuous storage process, we offload those moments by trusting instantaneous backups. MEMOGRAM challenges this delegation by offering a time capsule in the form of tickets, accompanying our memories with textual clues and descriptions. www.memogram.ch

Fantastic Smartphones

BA MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

Fantastic Smartphones

with Pauline Saglio, Vincent Jacquier

Fantastic Smartphones – a series of interactive installations developed by students in Bachelor Media & Interaction Design at ECAL, investigating in a critical and offbeat way our relationship with smartphones and the way they influence our daily behavior. See the press room

Related courses