Becoming Cyborg: Interdisciplinary Approaches for Exoskeleton Research

Abstract

This paper describes novel interdisciplinary approaches for the design and training of cyborg technologies, specifically upper body exoskeletons. EXACT: Exoskeletons, Art and Choreographic Training is a multi-faceted research effort that uses dance performance and experimental trials to study the effects of movement and live performance on exoskeleton training. The goal is to combine research methods from the arts with human robot interaction (HRI) research. The rationale for using ethnographic methods (which privilege qualitative analysis through video data and multimodal interaction analysis) within an HRI framework is to develop nuanced approaches for studying embodiment and techno-corporeality in socially-situated contexts. This investigation has led to the development of new evaluation tools and frameworks for studying human-machine interaction, including human-centred assessments and custom virtual reality tools that allow for fine-grained analysis. An interdisciplinary approach is essential for studying the corporeal experience in human-machine interactions.

The future of ‘video’ in video-based qualitative research is not ‘dumb’ flat pixels! Exploring volumetric performance capture and immersive performative replay

“…Inferno is designed, choreographed, composed and realized by Louis-Philippe Demers and Bill Vorn (http://prix2016.aec.at/prixwinner/19611/). The data shown here were collected by the research group EXACT (Exoskeletons, Art, Choreography and Training) (Jochum et al, 2018). Consent was granted by all participants for the full recordings to be used for research purposes.…”

Restraints as a Mechanic for Bodily Play

“…Designers can design for playful bodily arousal by using restraints to target the bodily senses, as in Inferno [50] and Space Agent [73]. In Inferno [50], the designers affected the players' bodily senses by stimulating the kinaesthetic sense through the movements imposed by the exoskeleton [38], while in Space Agent [73], the designers used binaural audio [37] to augment the hearing sense while depriving the visual sense by limiting the use of on-screen cues. Other examples of games that centre around affecting the senses to create bodily arousal are the vertigo games [7][8][9][10] mentioned in section 2 and the blind man's buff [82] mentioned in section 4.3.…”

“…Games with restraints can, if designers take caution and pay attention to these issues, lead to a better understanding and possibly empathy for disabled people 4 . An example is how the work with exoskeletons in Inferno also led to research into developing exoskeletons for disabled [38]. Conversely, there is also a risk of the opposite: ridicule or the exposure of disabilities.…”

Wearable Choreographer: Designing Soft-Robotics for Dance Practice

“…Given their safety and shape compliance, manipulating and guiding the human body has emerged as a compelling application of this technology. Building on previous works combining dance with exoskeleton technologies [10,44], we designed an embodied wearable soft robot for dance practice using an auto-biographical first person approach. More precisely, we built a wearable device, which we called Wearable Choreographer, that actuates on the leg in order to prompt movement.…”