<p> Computing and electronics parts are inexpensive enough these days to allow amateurs to build surprisingly sophisticated machines on a budget. Jonathan will talk about his experiences building kinetic artworks like Chassis the Drink-Serving Robot and SWARM, the collection of six spherical orbs that roll without wheels. He will discuss how it got started, how the robots work, and how knowing what you are doing is not always the best approach. Although they haven’t quite achieved world domination, he and his collaborators have exhibited robots at the Coachella Music Festival, the International Festival of Cocktail Robotics in Vienna, as well as the Techkriti Festival in Kanpur, India. The interested beginner will wind up with a bunch of tips and sources for getting started in robotics. </p>
<p> <strong> Jonathan Foote </strong> comes to the aesthetic sphere from a technical background. With a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and a scientific bent, he holds 34 U.S. patents and has over 60 scientific publications. His art work explores perception and interaction using a range of sophisticated electronics, from vintage vacuum tubes to the latest semiconductor devices. A San Francisco resident, he is a frequent hanger-on at the Noisebridge hackerspace there. He is a cofounder of the SWARM robotics collective, and his work has been shown at various Bay Area venues as well as internationally. More information on his work can be found at http://www.rotorbrain.com/jtfdesign. </p>