Prolegomena for a Transdisciplinary Investigation Into the Materialities of Soft Systems

Abstract

This paper presents exploratory research on the materiality, aesthetics and ecological potential of soft robots. Within the still emergent paradigm of soft robotics research, bio-inspiration is often hailed as being of central importance. The paper argues that soft robotics should equally be seen as giving prominence to materiality and the enactive and proces-sual potential of soft matter. The paper excavates different notions of materiality within media art that uses soft robots and in technical soft robotics research practices and discours-es. Against this background, the author’s own practice-based experiments with soft robots are presented.