inflatable anthropomorphic sculpture uses soft robotics to mimic breathing

a robotic machine that is ‘Searching for a Pulse’

MIT student Mateo Fernandez uses soft robotics to create an inflatable sculpture that visualizes breathing. ‘Searching for a Pulse’ is an anthropomorphic machine that is engineered to imitate a living organism or a pulsating organ. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, the kinetic structure operates with soft robotics to mimic dynamic pulsations speculating a future ran by ‘breathing machines’. The fabricated skeleton sets up a 3D-printed ribcage of firmly conjoined polygonal frames through which inflatable soft material expands and contracts.

all images courtesy of Mateo Fernandez

the inflatable sculpture acts as a pulsating organ

The anthropomorphic machine acts as a pulsating organ pressing against its ribcage while simultaneously being the ventilator providing it with air through a series of tubes. ‘The slow cadence of air fluctuating through the machine mimics that of a patient on a hospital gasping for air, every time less and less and less’, shares the designer. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the Covid pandemic in our rear mirror, the object seeks to project the past of a world shut down by a pandemic through breathing onto its speculative future, a world dictated by breathing machines. ‘Air is the substrate that ties everything together’, adds Fernandez.

an inflatable sculpture visualizes breathing through robotic kinesis

the anthropomorphic structure operates with soft robotics to mimic dynamic pulsations

the fabricated skeleton sets up a 3D-printed ribcage of firmly conjoined polygonal frames

the inflatable sculpture operates as a breathing machine

inflatable soft material expands and contracts through conjoined polygonal frames

the machine acts as a ventilator providing air through a series of tubes

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project info:

name: Searching for a Pulse
designer: Mateo Fernandez

video: Jabari

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom