Robots and avatars

RACIF – Robots and Avatars – Collaborative and Inter-Generational Futures

RACIF – Robots and Avatars – Collaborative and Intergenerational Futures - an intercultural, intergenerational and interdisciplinary cultural exploration around a near future world of collaborations between robots, avatars, virtual worlds, telepresence and real time presence within creative places, cultural environments, interactive entertainment and play space.

EACEA

RACIF addresses issues, ethics and concerns for European cultural professionals producing work involving new representational forms of themselves and others in virtual and physical worlds. It examines multi-identity evolutions and virtual mobility in increasing blended virtual/physical domains and the creative collaboration and training methodologies emerging. It explores the emergence of the European (virtual/physical) citizen.

Through a distinctive European programme of cultural activities co-ordinator body>data>space (GB) and co-organisers KIBLA (Sl) and AltArt (RO) plus 11 associate partners (from 5 European countries and 1 third country) will engage in a dynamic and deep collaboration process to deliver RACIF. An interwoven set of activities includes artist commissions, a touring exhibition, learning  experiences, debates, a camp residency, a website research resource and a book.

These activities will engage a wide range of artists, cultural players and recognised experts. The project will network knowledge gained into intergenerational cross sector connections throughout the European Union and internationally. RACIF will embed itself in the proposed 2012 European Year of “Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity” and present into Maribor 2012 - European Capital of Culture.

It will be a driver for change and growth, a learning exchange enabling a value chain of shared expertise from research to product to public. The long term aim is a sustained co-operation, a knowledge network that will extend the understanding of working and creating in a C21st world of virtual/physical co-operations.



COLLABOARATIVE RESEARCH CONTEXT LINKED TO THE CO-ORGANISERS

RACIF has emerged from a research initiative ‘Robots and Avatars - our colleagues of the future?’ undertaken by body>data>space (co-ordinator) and the National Endowment for Science Technologies and the Arts (NESTA London) in the UK across 2009-10. A range of high quality experts from diverse sectors (academia, cultural, science, creative industries, public services and commerce) came together in discussions, forums and debates at NESTA. The sessions integrated a range of age groups from 14 years old to over 70s. Several of the partners involved in this application attended to exchange knowledge and to add to the growing research pool.

‘Robots and Avatars - our colleagues of the future?’, an education led initiative, ran alongside and fed into the NESTA’s Young People’s programme ‘iDiscover’ which facilitates, through interventions into schools, the types of skills sets, aptitudes, resources and methodologies that young people will require for the workplace of the future, given that many of the jobs they will do have not yet been invented.

Project website:
www.robotsandavatars.net


Exhibition Robots and Avatars website:
kiblix.org/kiblix2012/ra/


Quotes from Project Champions

“The Robots and Avatars research project has been one of the first to bring robotics and avatar professionals together and provide a creative atmosphere with artists and designers. This is such a wonderfully interdisciplinary grouping that I feel compelled and proud to support it.”
Noel Sharkey, Professor of AI and Robotics and Professor of Public Engagement at the University of Sheffield (Department of Computer Science)

“I love the way the Robots and Avatars research is bringing together a beautiful diversity of people, exploring new paradigms, with unexpected and inspiring results. Exciting! Brave! Fun!”
Pear Urushima is a marketing guru working for Apple, Inc. in California. Currently, she specialises
in marketing Apple’s mobile products for businesses and science.


It is understandable that RACIF has naturally emerged from the combined long term work of the co-organisers and associate partners. This project is a clear expression of need to join together in order to follow up, expand and enhance this debate in the cultural sector. It includes mature and up and coming fresh organisations from a range of sectors, layering diverse approaches to the theme. We aim together to stimulate social innovation through the facilitation of this interdisciplinary collaboration. The process of the project and the rigour of the connection methodology between the partners is essential to the whole research.

Events:

Sections

Festivals

Projects, Coproduction and International Cooperation

Find us on: