A rigorous primer in movement studies 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. In Making Meaning with Machines, Amy LaViers and Catherine Maguire offer 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.Drawing upon the Laban/Bartenieff tradition, LaViers and Maguire sharpen the movement analysis methodology, expanding the material through their work with machines and putting forward new conventions, such as capitalization, naming, and notation schemes, that make the embodied work more legible for academic contexts. The book includes an overview of movement studies, exercises that define the presented taxonomy and principles of movement, case studies in movement analysis of both humans and robots, and state-of-the-art research at the intersection of robotics and dance.Making Meaning with Machines is a much-needed primer for observing, describing, and creating a wide array of movement patterns, which ultimately can help facilitate broader and better design choices for roboticists, technologists, and designers.

Preface ixAcknowledgments xviiElectronic Resources xixPrelude: Opening with Embodied Perspectives 1Introduction: Inviting Engineers into Movement Studies 3I Making Meaning through Movement1 Noticing Movement: Meaning, Measurement, and Experience 272 Studying Movement: Somatics, Choreography, and Notation 473 Constructing Movement: Somatic Strategies, Choreographic Technologies, and Notational Abstractions through a Laban/Bartenieff Lens 63II Describing Movement with an Embodied Taxonomy: The BESST System4 What Is Moving? The Interconnection of Body Parts and Action (Body) 855 Where Is the Movement? Spatial Fiducials for Movement (Space) 1136 When Is the Movement Happening? The Temporal Perception of Movement (Time) 1397 For Whom Is the Movement? The Relationship between Mover and Environment (Shape) 1658 How Is the Movement Executed? Movement Quality Enables Shading of Motion (Effort) 185III Translating Movement to Machines9 Deconstructing Movement: Case Studies in Expression (Answering "Why?") 20910 Notating Movement: Advanced Analysis through Symbolic Representation 243Conclusion: Understanding Movement 283Outro: Returning to Embodied Perspectives 293Appendix A: Symbols in the BESST System 297Appendix B: Movement Scales 311Appendix C: Effort Configurations 323Appendix D: Rationale for the Time Component 327Appendix E: Pedagogy and Group Work 329Glossary 339Notes 359References 367Index 383