Brisbane residents had the chance to glimpse into society’s robotic future at the festival of robotics and interactive design that took place at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Gardens Point campus on Sunday.
QUT’s 2015 Robotronica festival showcased robots of all variety, from the dancing child-like Naos to Australia’s first trapeze-swinging robot and the jazzy marimba playing Shimon Robot to aquabots, pet bots, medical bots, fruit picking and AgBots.
Crowds attending the festival were able to witness a feast of robotic activity with kids pitting their skills against each other in games ranging from sumo wrestling to robotic ball and mini quadcopter obstacle courses.
“Colour-blind New York Cyborg Neil Harbisson enthralled crowds explaining to them how he hears colour through an antennae implanted in his skull while Australian performing artist Stelarc illustrated his Ear on Arm project,” reads the press release by QUT.
“Tens of thousands will be able to remember and enjoy Robotronica virtually, with QUT giving away more than 8,000 sets of cardboard Global Goggles. Members of the 501st Legion including Darth Vadar, storm troopers and R2D2 roamed the campus posing with visitors wanting the ultimate science fiction selfie.”
The festival drew curtains with QUT’s purpose-built performance robots, the Perff Bots, which strutted their stuff on the stage to the sweet sounds of performance orchestra Deepblue while circus performer Marianna Joslin and the trapeze bot hung and swung.
According to reports, approximately 20,000 people attended QUT’s Robotronica, while the website registered 37,000 visits and 166,000 page views since its launch in late July.
