building might observe friction between two individuals and relocate their workspaces to minimize unnecessary conflicts.

AWE and the Electric Staircase are early prototypes that look toward more fully developed and richer robotically enhanced built environments. Both prototypes exemplify a built environment that physically reconfigures itself in response to inhabitants’ needs or desires. AWE, more pragmatically, suggests that your physical environment could mold itself to your activities. The Electric Staircase would never stand up to rigorous user testing—but stepping out into space and finding a step appear beneath your foot is magical.

Our two examples are part of
a growing trend to embed robot-
ics into buildings; we have space
here to mention only a few oth-
ers. Goulthorpe’s Hyposurface
(Figure 3; http://hyposurface.org)
is a wall made of panels, each
independently actuated. Its mak-
ers say, “The surface behaves
like a precisely controlled liquid:
Waves, patterns, logos, even text
emerge and fade continually within
its dynamic surface.” The Delft
Hyperbody Group’s Musclebody
(Figure 4; http://tinyurl.com/delft-
musclebody) is a pneumatically
actuated exoskeletal Lycra tent that
changes shape and size, respond-
ing to people inside. And Tang’s
Pixelbot (Figure 5), a furniture-
like installation, responds to ges-
ture with movement and color.

• Figure 3. The
HypoSurface
media facade,
shown at the bIO
2007 exhibition
in boston, is a
mechanically
actuated respon-
sive wall surface.
Credit: Mark
Goulthorpe and
Hyposurface.org
January + February 2012