In 2018, Larry Harvey dreamed
of a radically different Man.
(“…Man” as in Burning Man— the event derives its name from its culmination, the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred to as 'The Man')
Larry Harvey founded Burning Man in 1986, and 32 years later, he wanted the nature of the effigy to evolve, manifesting an intelligent robot that would transcend the traditionally static role of an installation and become a participant itself. The robot would interact with participants through gesture and movement, both sensing the actions of participants, and responding to them with a logic to facilitate emergent behaviors on both ends.
One of the core goals of the project was to create a physical translation of the power of artificial intelligence. In modern times. the power of algorithms in shaping humanity and society is immense— yet the substrate upon which they exist can be difficult to imagine. By activating an artificially intelligent 40 ft. robot, we hoped to bring a new respect for digital systems, using the immediacy of the massive scale to inspire awe.
What you see on this page are the concept visualizations I made using Blender 3D, and the accompanying design logic that I developed over the course of the project to describe the robot’s behavior.
Kinetic Communication
Emergent Behavior
Through an array of sensors, we would provide data that the robot could use to interact with participants. The robot would know where people were located, allowing it to direct its attention toward individuals. Furthermore, we would implement pose analysis capabilities, and the robot would be able to mimic the movements and poses of participants. Furthermore, we wanted it to integrate those movements into its ‘memory’ so as to inform a model that would enable emergent behaviors. These memories could even be employed such that the robot might be able to remember a past encounter with a specific individual, and recreate the pose from the previous interaction, further conveying a deeper intelligence.
Initially we tried not to get too bogged down with the technical practicality associated with the massive scale of the robot, and instead focus on finding compelling interactions, and considering how to convey the spirit of those interactions into a feasible engineering envelope. Working with PhD roboticists and SpaceX engineers, there were a few different plans on how the design might function structurally. One thing was clear— the limbs of the robot should not actually be load-bearing, which actually enabled some fun possibilities, like a floating flying lotus pose as seen below.
(Concept renders created using Blender 3D)
Conveying Intelligence
Curiosity
While we wanted to enable emergent behavior as much as possible, we also wanted to develop a set of pre-defined routines to best inspire awe. Larry wanted the robot to be imbued with curiosity— on the left below is my sketch for a set of actions that would show an apparent curiosity. Using that concept, I then rigged, animated, and rendered an animation of the routine.
VR Prototype
In our efforts to create a compelling interaction (and present it to the investors/benefactors who could make it a reality), we also made a virtual reality experience using Unity Game Engine. As a quick prototype, it was quite effective in conveying the immense scale of the robot, which was breathtaking (and almost a bit scary).
Larry Harvey brought our work to show certain individuals— enthusiastic burners, who also happen to lead multi-billion dollar corporations. One benefactor (who must remain unnamed) agreed to provide the necessary financial support.
Tragedy Strikes
Days later, Larry encountered a serious medical issue. Three weeks later, Larry passed away at the age of 70. He is survived by his family and a global community of devoted Burning Man participants inspired by his vision to build a more creative, cooperative, and generous world.
Change in Scope
The Man aspect of Burning Man had always been Larry’s dominion. Every year he would strive to push the limits with the massive effigy. On occasion, the limits were encountered directly— in 2016 the spinning Vetruvian Man design failed to rotate, which left the build and engineering crews wary of integrating motion into the design. Without Larry as the champion for the project, we no longer had the internal organizational support necessary for the project to proceed as planned.
The iAwake team continues to work on making Larry’s final vision a reality, but now plans for a 30 ft. metal robot that would be a recurring fixture in the desert. It would be accompanied with an arch accompanied with displays and lighting fixtures. These images are some of the concept art that I created to visualize the new plans for the project.
