Kacie Kinzer: Tiny Moments with Tiny Robots

Author: Michelle Riggen-Ransom
Posted: 10/24/09 22:10 UTC
Info: Bio
Tags: new york, urban, Robotics, Society, Art

Thanks to Ethan Zuckerman and Rachel Barenblat for their amazing live coverage these past two days! Picking up since they had to head south a little early. Safe travels to our PopTech friends!— MRR

“You may have noticed a small, roving, very adorable robot over the past few days,” jokes Andrew Zolli to begin the final session of PopTech. This robot is the work of roboticist Kacie Kinzer, who explains that she’s actually not that interested in robots, she’s more interested in people. Kinzer’s tiny, friendly robots, which she calls tweenbots, traverse cities unaided except for the help of strangers.

CC image from Kris Krug

Kinzer, who lives in NYC, finds it often to be an overwhelming place: filled with “trash and noise and guys with clipboards”. This, she explains, makes it hard to have real moments of interaction and serendipity in the city; the very things that separate humans from robots. Her goal in creating tweenbots is to change the way people experience city on a very small scale, and to encourage them to engage with the city in a different way. In her words, to create “robots that make humans act more like humans.”

Tweenbots got their name both because they travel between spaces, and also because they are between humans and robots and between reality and imagination. “Sam”, the original tweenbot, rolls along in at straight path at a constant speed, proudly bearing a flag that reads “Help me! Trying to get to (a specific place in the city), aim me in the right direction.” His simple, smiling face is apparently quite effective in getting strangers to engage.

Kinzer’s efforts put Sam out in the city in the NE corner and tried to get him to the SE corner while recording what happened. “I quickly learned,” joked Kinzer, “that New Yorkers very rarely suspect they are being watched” so there was no need for hidden cameras, she could just record Sam’s interactions unobtrusively.

A video clip shows a man following Sam along for thirty seconds or so, then decides to help. Passing dogs look slightly confused but enthusiastic. The day that Kinzer shot the video was very hot, causing the rubber tread on the tire came off and Sam to go in circles. A group of seemingly delighted and unrelated men worked together to figure out what had happened and, like an ad hoc pit crew, found the missing tread, replaced it, and set him on his way again.

“You never really know how deep the level of engagement will go,” says Kinzer. A young woman talks to herself as she tries to orient him, triangulating to determine the best way. A street performer inspects him curiously. Throughout the clip, characteristically stern New Yorkers are laughing, helping, participating in this little robot’s journey.

“When I first started the tweenbots,” remarks Kinzer, “I had no idea that a cardboard robot in NYC would provoke such a poignant response.”

Her personal favorite moment from her experiment was when a man carefully turned the robot around, cautioning “You can’t go that way, it’s towards the road.”

“New Yorkers really brought the story to life and taught me about empathy and kindness,” says Kinzer. “Thank you, New York!”