| Getup Blocks is a machine that
automatically rebuilds a block tower that has been knocked over. My one-year-old
daughter
Paloma loves to knock towers over (towers
made
of blocks, sand, anything). Sometimes I can build thirty towers in a
row and never lose her attention.
Getup Blocks examines whether
Paloma remains interested in knocking over towers that are
not built by a person. Was her activity about interacting with the material
or the person - or both? Based on about two months of observation with
an early prototype, I think the social interactions are more important
for her, but the machine
has meaning of its own.
In its first version, Getup Blocks rises
and
falls very slowly in an organic and unpredictable way. The slow falling
seemed especially interesting for Paloma, and she would sometimes
stand on the base and wrestle with the blocks for a long time.
Eventually
she won these wrestiling matches and the motor burned out. This
version (pictured) is more robust using clutches and stronger materials.
Also, the blocks getup very slowly, but always fall fast now. |
