Symbiosis: Design and Development of Novel Soft Robotic Structures for Interactive Public Spaces

High-rise concrete structures and crowded public spaces are familiar scenes in today’s fast-paced world, resulting in decreased restorative time for humans with nature. Therefore, interior designers and architects have strived to amalgamate nature-inspired installations into architectural design in an attempt to augment interior spaces into becoming more restorative. In this paper, we explored the development of nature-inspired robotic structures for playful and interactive experiences, which are essential factors contributing to the inhabitant’s perceived restorativeness. Our work focused on developing three kinetic art-based "robotic plant" installations for indoor public spaces: soft oscillating LaLang (Impreecta Cylindrica) fields, a blooming dandelion-like flower, and a blooming lotus-like flower. These installations aim to create a relaxing and restorative user experience through bio-inspired design with playful and pleasant plant-human interactions. During the art exhibition, the mesmerizing kinetic movement of the developed devices and their physical interactivity attracted visitors to engage with the devices successfully. This paper discusses the design and development of these three robotic plant installations.