Github: https://github.com/MerihanAlhafnawi/mosaix
MOSAIX is a swarm of robots I designed and built during PhD. The swarm’s mission is to be used in social settings with members of the public. The Tiles design, being a touchscreen-on-wheels, is easy to use by the public and is highly adaptable to different scenarios. Below are some event where MOSAIX was used by the public.
Opinion-mixing
We took a swarm of 34 Tiles (of which 20 were always active) to Cabot Circus Shopping Mall in Bristol to collect opinions on climate change. When people entered their opinion on a robot, the robot would display it for other people to see, and move randomly in the “opinion arena”, mixing around with other opinions. This swarm behaviour of opinions motivated other people to express their own opinion, and encouraged them to have a chat with us about climate change and robotics. To know more and see the experiment, click here!
Collaborative art
During the 2021 UK Festival of Robotics which took place remotely, we hosted an event where participants were able to access and control the Tiles remotely, moving them around the arena and changing the colour of the screens to create art. Many interesting shapes emerged, including a palm tree and a football player (as shown in the picture). To see other shapes that emerged, click here!
Educational Tool
MOSAIX has been used as a “moving puzzle” to educate school children on robotics. Each of the Tiles showed a part of an image while moving randomly in an arena. The child’s task was to figure out how to stop them (by touching the screen) and to assemble them. When correctly assembled, the Tiles would show an image of the Mars Perseverance (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech). This opened the door for us to talk to the children about swarm robotics, space robotics and STEM careers.
Smart Sticky Notes
MOSAIX was used as a smart sticky notes system at WeTheCurious museum in Bristol to help people brainstorm ideas. Attendees used Tiles to enter their idea on how the city of Bristol can provide a healthier lifestyle for its citizens, and the Tiles autonomously aggregated into different clusters, each representing a different theme. The event lasted for 3 days, where 63 Tiles were used and over 290 people attended.
Merihan Alhafnawi 