PL’AI / Špela Petrič (SI)
PL’AI by the scientist and media artist Špela Petrič explores the possibility of play between cucumber plants and an AI robot. As they grow, cucumbers search for surfaces to grab hold of, their tendrils slowly swaying through the air. A robot approaches the plants with 36 individually controlled wires suspended from above, moving only as fast as the tendrils of the plants. It senses the cucumbers and feeds the images through a neural network, which in turn decides how to approach the plants by moving the colored balls. With each touch, the cucumbers impact the algorithm and gradually transform the robot’s steel tendrils into a trellis that supports their growth. The play between the cucumber and robot leaves morphological traces in the shape of the plants, the steel strings, and the neural network. A time-lapse recording of the last 24 hours of play, which captures the tendrils’ and balls’ movement, shows this process.
"PL'AI" received a Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2021.
Credit: Ars Electronica - Robert Bauernhansl
PL’AI / Špela Petrič (SI)
PL’AI by the scientist and media artist Špela Petrič explores the possibility of play between cucumber plants and an AI robot. As they grow, cucumbers search for surfaces to grab hold of, their tendrils slowly swaying through the air. A robot approaches the plants with 36 individually controlled wires suspended from above, moving only as fast as the tendrils of the plants. It senses the cucumbers and feeds the images through a neural network, which in turn decides how to approach the plants by moving the colored balls. With each touch, the cucumbers impact the algorithm and gradually transform the robot’s steel tendrils into a trellis that supports their growth. The play between the cucumber and robot leaves morphological traces in the shape of the plants, the steel strings, and the neural network. A time-lapse recording of the last 24 hours of play, which captures the tendrils’ and balls’ movement, shows this process.
"PL'AI" received a Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2021.
Credit: Ars Electronica - Robert Bauernhansl