# How Artists Improvise and Provoke Robotics

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.22462 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.22462/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 29 Oct 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Multi Layered Autonomy and AI Ecologies in Robotic Art Installations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.02606/) (2025)
- [Airy: Reading Robot Intent through Height and Sky](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.08381/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We explore transdisciplinary collaborations between artists and roboticists across a portfolio of artworks. Brendan Walker's Broncomatic was a breath controlled mechanical rodeo bull ride. Blast Theory's Cat Royale deployed a robot arm to play with a family of three cats for twelve days. Different Bodies is a prototype improvised dance performance in which dancers with disabilities physically manipulate two mirrored robot arms. We reflect on these to explore how artists shape robotics research through the two key strategies of improvisation and provocation. Artists are skilled at improvising extended robot experiences that surface opportunities for technology-focused design, but which also require researchers to improvise their research processes. Artists may provoke audiences into reflecting on the societal implications of robots, but at the same time challenge the established techno-centric concepts, methods and underlying epistemology of robotics research.