WallBots: interactive wall-crawling robots in the hands of public artists and political activists

Street art and political activism have a rich history of shaping urban landscapes. Our work explores the processes by which public artists and political activists contribute to public spaces, introducing opportunities for HCI researchers to engage with the people who shape the aesthetic feel of our cities. We present WallBotsautonomous, wall-crawling robots as a research probe for public expression across a wide range of surfaces and hardto-reach places, including bus stops, whiteboards, streetpoles, trashcans, moving vehicles and building walls. We evaluate WallBots as a low-cost DIY authoring tool for public artists and activists. Our study of six individuals who extensively contribute to public spaces offers insights into the materials and practices behind grassroots public expression. We then leverage feedback from participants, among them a graffiti artist, light painter, political activists, and street musician, to evaluate interaction techniques for manipulating WallBots as a m...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2010
• Where: ACMDIS
• Authors: Stacey Kuznetsov, Eric Paulos, Mark D. Gross
• Keywords: ACMDIS 2010, Human Computer Interaction, Public Artists, Public Expression, Public Spaces