We were delighted to welcome Makers of Imaginary Worlds (MOIW) as the first company to use our readily configurable labs at the Cobot Maker Space.  

Founders of the Nottingham based company ‘Makers of Imaginary Worlds’, Roma Patel (Scenographer, Artist and former Horizon CDT Student) and Rachel Ramchurn (Producer and Artistic Director) talked to us about using the space and equipment to create Thingamabobas  

“Having access to the labs and working with the Cobot Maker Space researchers allowed us to explore and experiment in a safe environment. Using the robots, in particular Niryo Ned (a robotic arm), really enabled us to investigate AI and the capabilities it presented to embed touchless interaction that responds to an audience’s movements. 

Thingamabobas is a playful sensory experience for participants to interact with a circus troupe of hybrid sculptures made from recycled and sustainable materials. 

Following performances at Lakeside Arts, Thingamabobas is now out on tour, commencing at St Anns library in Nottingham.  In addition, the project team was successful in obtaining a TAS Hub Artists in Residence award. The ‘Dancing with Machines’ project will include workshops and meetings in the Cobot Maker Space to explore the creative potential of aesthetic interactions with an autonomous system – in particular human-robotics interactions, AI, machine learning and gestural language for communication.

This work is supported by National Lottery through Arts Council England