Robots, aesthetics, and the heritage context

Abstract

Most people have not yet interacted directly with a robot in their everyday lives- except maybe with children's toys or those charming robotic vacuum cleaners. While there are ongoing experiments with robots in healthcare, many more are employed in hightech, efficient environments such as factories. But robots have also played a large part in our cultural and historical imagination. This is celebrated in recent exhibitions such as "Robots" at the Science Museum in London and "Hello, Robot. Design Between Human and Machine" at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Apart from such exhibits and despite robots' pointing toward future automation, robots are starting to be used in heritage contexts to provide services, from remote exploration of museum sites to robot-based guided tours. But what happens when robots move from being an attraction to being an agent that shares physical space with people? Beyond the laboratory, everyday contexts require robots to be incredibly stable and reliable over time. This is particularly important for historical sites. The use of robots should not, under any circumstances, damage the heritage or endanger the safety of staff or visitors, or interfere with preservation or visitor enjoyment and appreciation. However, challenges emerging from the use of robots in heritage contexts relate not only to functional aspects but also perceptual ones.