Art meets robotics

This episode is the first encounter between the duo AATB and Hannes Mayer, after several exchanges of discussions. They meet at the ETH Zurich, where Hannes is Senior Researcher and member of the board of Gramazio Kohler Research - Chair for Architecture and Digital Fabrication. Together, they discuss the concept of non-industrial robotics and their common ambitions for a successful future collaboration. The collective AATB developed several kinetic and interactive works and situations such as “The Handshake” and “https://www.aatb.ch/exhibitions/big-players/”, which enticed Hannes Mayer to dive into a tight collaboration with them.

AATB is a practice for Non-Industrial Robotics, founded by Andrea Anner and Thibault Brevet. Andrea Anner was born in Zurich, graduated from ECAL in 2012 with a MA in Art Direction: Type Design, and in 2008 from ZHDK with a BA in Visual Communication. Thibault Brevet was born in Lyon, France, graduated from ECAL in 2015 with a MA in Visual Arts and in 2012 with a BA in Graphic Design. AATB experiments with industrial robotic systems such as robotic arms and industrial automation processes and develops works engaging with Human-Machine Interactions through the lens of kinetic and interactive situations. Since 2020, the studio operates a Motion Control service for the film industry: Superposition. AATB has been selected for the 2022 Connect residency at CERN, organised by Arts at CERN and Pro Helvetia.

Projects discussed during the episode: DFAB House by Gramazio Kohler AATB at the Swiss Design Accelerator, organised by Swissnex San Francisco and Pro Helvetia.