Client: The Design Museum

Overview

Mimus is a giant industrial robot that’s curious about the world around her. Unlike in traditional industrial robotics, Mimus has no pre-planned movements: she is programmed with the freedom to explore and roam about her enclosure. Mimus has no eyes, however — she uses sensors embedded in the ceiling to see everyone around her simultaneously. If she finds you interesting, Mimus may come in for a closer look and follow you around. But her attention span is limited: if you stay still for too long, she will get bored and seek out someone else to investigate.

Goals

This large scale interactive robotic installation was commissioned by The Design Museum London for their inaugural exhibition of their grand re-opening, Fear and Love: Reactions to a Complex World.
The curators asked us to create a new work that spoke towards our hopes and anxieties around automation and robotics. So we created a zoo-like experience, where our robot would get a 6 month holiday at the museum and could repeatedly engage with visitors.

Process

We developed in-house custom control software and customized sensing hardware to bring our robot to life. We also collaborated closely with the exhibition designers and industrial safety consultants to ensure our installation surpassed international safety standards.