Book Release: Making Meaning with Machines

“Making Meaning with Machines” by Amy LaViers (’09) and co-author Cat Maguire will be published on October 10 by MIT Press. The text is a rigorous primer in movement studies and notation for designers, engineers, and scientists that draws on the fields of dance and robotics.

How should a gestural interface react to a “flick” versus a “dab”? Versus a “punch”? Should robots reach out to a human counterpart with a direct, telescoping action or through a circuitous arc in space? Just as different movements express the different internal states of human movers, so too can the engineered systems behind robots. This new book offers a refreshingly embodied approach to machine design that supports the growing need to make meaning with machines by using the field of movement studies, including choreography, somatics, and notation, to engage in the process of designing expressive robots.

Website: http://www.makingmeaningwithmachines.com/