Medieval Robots: The Role of Historical Automata in the Design of Future Robots

Abstract

In this work, we ask about the relevance of medieval automata in modern culture, and about what we can learn from imagined robots in the distant past about the future design of robots. Using an iterative and critical making process, we plan to reconstruct "The Alabaster Chamber", or "Chambre de Beautes", a room-sized robotic structure that was described in Le Roman de Troiein the beginning of the 12th century. By prototyping and tangibly introducing this robotic space among multi-disciplinary scholars in the fields of human-computer interaction, human-robot interaction and digital humanities, we set out to provoke discussion about alternative interactions and experiences with technology that we may or may not want to consider.