Keywords

1 Introduction to the Robotic Architectural System

Nowadays, modern cities around the world have been clustering into large-scale living compounds in both real and virtual ways rapidly, people are more mobile and networked than ever before. Consequently. It leads to high demand for personalization and flexibility, and people can no longer be satisfied with rigid and standardized housing units. A clash between the mass production of architecture and the growing need for customization by the individual is assessed. However, the current building industry has not caught up with this trend. People are still dwelling with solidified facilities the same as in the last centuries. With new technologies and the digital revolution, the needs of the public, as well as the desires of an individual, can be accomplished. In this direction, architectural works show needed functions, provide the framework for the place, and express its function at a particular occasion. Meanwhile, with the accelerated pace of modern life and the rapid development of new technologies, architecture faces the challenge of rapidly changing scenarios over time. In the new era, architecture should be created as a transformable and vivid structure enriched with complete resources and more possibilities for civic lives.

In this situation, deformed architecture should be refined through a technological blueprint. Simultaneously, the emergence of interactive technology and new material prompted the traditional architecture via intelligent transformation in terms of morphological property. Of note, the invention of pneumatic soft robotics has made the morphological shift and its cybernetic formula possible. Numerous research cases proved that the outstanding paradigm as a soft responsive architecture via technical, functional, and actuated directions had been endowed. In this work, a set of criteria for creating relevant components is discussed. Based on these criteria, a scheme of the cybernetic architectural systems is developed, which utilizes the space interaction with people through morphology-variating modules and body tracking signals. With flexibility increased significantly by the incorporation of deformed components. The combination of two mechanistically synergistic circuits formed an interactive architecture system.

2 Literature Review: From Theory to Practice

The previous architectural research, technological practices, and social proposals mentioned the initial architectural transformation by shifting shapes only. Essentially we focus on the structures that live according to the changes in their environment. They breathe differently in different conditions and make changes in accord with the environment [3]. Thus, they may have a little bit of their own life. The original idea considers something close to an animal, namely an idea about re-establishing a relationship with architecture. Among the explorations of the forerunners of this kind of soft architecture, like Archigram, Buckminster Fuller, and Yona Friedman [10], the Fun Palace conceived by Cedric Price was almost taken into practice. While developing his design for the Fun Palace, he described his visions for such a place: “Old systems of learning are now decayed. The new universities will be of the world and in each man… The variety of activities cannot be completely forecasted; as new techniques and ideas arise they will be tried. The structures themselves will be capable of changes, renewal, and destruction. If any activity defeats its purpose it will be changed (Fig. 1).” Price (1964) pointed out that architecture can bring egalitarian and dignity and proposed renewal for functionalism in following uncertain activity towards its behavioral occasion. In this way, the concept of improvisational architecture was introduced through, an entity, whose essence was in a continuous process of construction, dismantling, and reassembling by permitting multiple and indeterminate uses. Gorden Pask, the technical consultant of the Fun Palace committee, emphasized the functions, which are performed by human beings or human societies, and claimed that a building cannot be viewed simply in isolation, but meant as a human environment. It perpetually interacts with its inhabitants by serving them and controlling their behaviors [12].

Fig. 1.
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Cedric Price, fun palace, sketches and notes, 1964, Cedric Price Archives, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal

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New correlations in terms of the crucial relation of structure with its target were developed with another theory by Herman Hertzberger. He introduced the linguistic concept of ‘competence’ and ‘performance’ addressed by Chomsky to illustrate the essence of architecture [6]: Competence is the knowledge that a person has of his or her language, while performance refers to the use he makes of that knowledge in concrete situations; It can indeed be established with architecture, In architectural terms, competence defines a form’s capacity to be interpreted, and performance, stated by the form, interprets a specific situation.

All previous relevant research advocates a new kind of active and dynamic architecture to permit multiple uses and constantly adapt to change. It can be a network of diverse events and a space of oscillation between incongruous activities simultaneously. To redefine the users, the architectural space, and scenes adapting to different functions and interactions of humans with space, a creative and flexible control system is needed by the users in a dynamic space pattern for various daily activities. New technology like artificial intelligence and cybernetics is expected to be followed. Besides, the research of material systems and soft robotics in search of an alternative to rigidity can be accepted. As Nicholas Negroponte proposed that responsive architecture during the spatial de-sign problems can be explored by applying cybernetics to architecture [11]. Meanwhile, by forming a new frontier of kinetic designing, the domain of soft robotics has created an exciting and highly interdisciplinary paradigm in engineering, which provides a method for revolutionizing the role of robotics in architecture.

Soft robots are primarily composed of easily deformable matter such as fluids, gels, and elastomers with characteristics matching biological tissue and organs’ elastic and rheological properties [7]. Till now, understanding and controlling the shape of thin, soft objects has been the focus of significant research efforts among physicists, biologists, and engineers for decades. For Example, so far, the researchers of the Interactive Architecture Lab designed a pavilion with cybernetic pneumatic silicone-made components [8]. Challenging conventional design thinking about adaptive architecture, the experiments outlined in this research suggest approaches to building soft responsive architecture. Soft responsive architecture acts as a proxy for the improvisational performance of architecture, enabling the theoretical visions of deformed architecture through technology. Although the soft robotics system is technologically viable, the inconvenience in manufacturing and excessive variates need further development to accommodate the popularization and diversification of space use. Thus, the proceeding development of multifunction should be advanced in the shape-shifting approach. One way of empowering diversity is to standardize the intelligent components with varying soft elements in specific-sized modular and freely combine them for diverse spaces.

3 Methodology Based on Structure and Performance

In order to provide a shared space of hybrid functions satisfying the compound responsive structure, this research is mainly focused on the adjustability, behavioral orientation, and performative aspect of the architectural system. Spaces have been considered introverted or extroverted atmospheres by categorizing them depending on the diversity of activities such as connected vs closed, private vs open, and stable vs dynamic. To figure out one’s expectations for improvisational space, some inter-views were performed to summarize several types of scenes in different modes. However, the list was not comprehensive, as the variety of activities could never be precisely forecast (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2.
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Space scenarios adaptive to multiple activities

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3.1 The Exploration of Material Agent

While selecting the material as the systemic agent, the hardness and deformability were the first two prime factors. Stiffness is related to spatial properties, while deformability affects the flexibility of spatial transformations. On the balance of the architectural hardness and soft deformability, in this study, the inflatable silicone as the material agent is chosen, and it is combined with the hard plate as the architectural component (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3.
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Material fabrication

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3.2 Inputs, Outputs, and Interaction

The responsive approach to any architecture design affects certain environmental conditions or users’ needs in terms of simulative responses to them. This kind of system works with two components, namely the sensors, which are the input, and the actuators, which are the output signal. The sensors measure real-time data such as light, temperature, humidity, movement, position, speed, etc. This data is fed to the system to trigger the actuator, which performs in terms of change in its shape, color, size, position, and geometry. The main medium of architecture in this cybernetic system was set as the basic elements such as the smart floor, ceiling, and walls. As the proxy of the morphological changes of the architecture, the soft modules generate outputs to render the performative outcomes of the different activities, a unique atmosphere, and separate privacy. The kinetic actuation can be collected from the scene switching (e.g., Reshaped lounge/Partition rise up/Seating zones of different undulating surfaces), the output devices include an actuation motor, kinetic driver, VR glasses, odor transmitter, temperature regulator, glass transparency regulator, tilt brush, music player, visual projections, and view wander. The interaction input can be set by the fingerprints, VR waves, body temperature, sunlight, voice, panel setting, press projected spot, facial capturing, and body tracking. An interactive performance can be better actuated and set into different levels by synergizing all these mentioned points. It is expressed as follows: Level 1—Interaction in the unconscious state: Pressure controlling (spontaneous deformation): Sofas and beds for sitting and lying; Level 2—Interaction in transforming mode: Body-pose controlling via skeleton tracking (smart deformation): Space transform into different scenes.

In this experiment, Level 2, the human-system interaction, was further investigated. The IMU sensor was used to record the tilt angle of the user’s body as input. The human body posture captured by the IMU sensor is defined through coding to the modular inflatable structure. The combination and changes of different modules were proceeded to create a lively scene suitable for different functions and a flexible change of life mode (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4.
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Sensing mechanism and inputs

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The current investigations involved the construction of an interactive system and its sampling by analyzing combined morphological models in the diverse predesigned patterns. In order to realize the space-change of a scene transformation, component modules were elaborately designed in specific patterns consisting of different calculated material attributes. The components inflate into conditional shape to meet the requirement of various scenes. The tilt angles of the body along 2 axes of the IMU sensor using 3 left and right arms positions were used as the input data, and the inflatable structure modulating in 3 * 3 m as the material agent was measured for the space performance output. The silicone material was selected for its elasticity to conform to the cambered surface, durability, and adaptability for flexible arrangement, and it can also be forged tightly with other materials. The assembled architectural system is displayed as a Soft Pneumatic Robotic Structure (SPRS) with silicone inflatables on the 3D printed acrylic plates controlled by mechanical-inflatable algorithms. In addition, a set of the tracheas, valves, manifolds, adapters, connectors, circuits, Arduino boards, wires, etc. is formed in the system (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5.
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Module configuration

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3.3 Fabrication and Systemization

So far, the fabrication research of soft modules includes several aspects to be focused on. The manufacturing procedure faces its most duration for the casting complement of the rubber after blending two raw materials, since the inadequate time may not allow the downright weld of the weak joints, which leak the gas and result in the inaccuracy of the experiments. The ratio of the raw materials also cast a sequential effect on the toughness of the finished rubber, which directly influences the swelling capability of the soft samples. The silicone modules were connected to the inflator bump to generate the expected inflation, controlling the air pressure to the modules in graded amounts. This method obtains the diverse surface variations of the materials. Although two samples were noticed at risk of breaking the elastic extent, leading to abnormal morphology at the highest level of air compression, the variations with respect to others are negligible. In addition, the results confirm that the different morphologies are the consequence of the inconsistencies in the pattern, their curvature rates and inflation sizes are obtained under the elaborated manipulation. The air pressure in the module decides the volume of the morphology of a specific shape and the bending orientation depends on the main direction of the actuating material. Meanwhile, the combination of multiple samples created flexible abundant shapes of space, and it is also testimony to the necessity of the initial design of variable module patterns. As one part of the pneumatic interaction system, SPRS combines human-capturing censoring and developed through space monitoring manifestation (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6.
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System assemblage

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4 Results as a Synergistic System

All the material, interaction, and fabrication studies are integrated into an interactive synergistic control system, as can be seen in the following figures (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7.
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The control system (SPRS)

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The control system SPRS includes two parts: The electrical circuit composed of Arduino, IMU sensor, solenoid valve, and relay, and the air pipeline consisting of the solenoid valve, air compressor, inflation module, etc. Fig. 7 shows the structural results obtained from it. It performs a robust actuation in desired features by the digital control of human interaction and the SPRS (Fig. 8).

Fig. 8.
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Sample swelling testing and morphology detection

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The samples are dimension-adaptive for the common functions and scenarios, providing the precise exploration of the pattern design of the modules (Fig. 9). A quantitative analysis was applied to determine the swelling behavior based on the maximum curvature of the calculated levels within the considered position and scale (Table 1). Based on this approach, the prediction for the average uncertainty of the model in this study slightly exceeds the acceptability limit defined by the previous research. Nevertheless, these results suggest that data obtained using SPRS to simulate material inflation and space construction can provide more information for assessing the impact of performative strategies than that of the traditional setting of collaging configuration. Of note, it can be observed that the intermediate zone created by the arrangement and combination of the diverse samples is partly out of expectation. There are striking richnesses noted when each of the modules forms a synergic entity of the morphological space and structural system in the adaptive intelligent SPRS for physical interaction (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9.
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Space generation and scenario presentation

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Table 1. Module information analysis
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5 Discussion and Future Work

In terms of constant change, impermanence, process-oriented, and interchangeability in improvisational and responsive architecture, the research work presented a scheme of technological realization and a systematic approach for the deformed architecture using cybernetic robotics. In this study, the testing was extended to the diverse surface variations among the materials. In order to create free-style and abundant shapes of space by developing the combination of multiple samples, the open-ended possibilities for a series of unexpected scenarios were included. Based on this approach, the prediction of the performance of the model allows the indeterminacy, and the dynamic equilibrium of the improvisation in the activity and scene adaptability through the synergistic behaviors of these samples is obtained. Thus these findings extend the pneumatic robotics architecture, confirming a more flexible, circumstantial, and biotic facet of architecture as an interactive environment. Most notably, the study investigates the soft robotics architectural system by integrating multi-faceted impact upon intelligent architecture in material, space, interaction, fabrication, and cybernetics. The structure with its inhabitants and the interplay between them form the entity of an evolving ecosystem mediated by each of them.

However, although the hypotheses were supported statistically, indeterminacy, the crux collectively pointed out by this work and the relevant research seem contradicted to the cybernetics mechanism. As Van Oyen (2018) mentioned, if an agency, the defining criterion for revealing the denotation of the material agency, has varied theoretical strands, these material-based objects generally affect the course of action, which may be irreducible to direct human intervention. Thus the counterbalance between the morphological manipulation of the cybernetic system and the autonomy and randomness of the space usage calls for discreet consideration in the human-system interaction.

Future work should include the following focus points. The research on the fabrication and performance of the soft modules on the architectural scale is to be furthered. And the specific performance strategy of the space interaction, which relied on cybernetics as a dynamic system including behavioral goals out of the realistic flow standards, should be explored. Furthermore, oriented on the equilibrium and inclusivity, the resilient control system based on feedback investigation, game theory, behavioral neurology, and brain-computer interaction can be introduced to study the long-term performative strategies. What needs to be retrospect is that, as a foothold for this study, even though Fun Palace represented an unprecedented architectural synthesis of technology, its birth was motivated socially, by the emancipation and empowerment of the individual. As Price had been quite explicit: “Fun Palace wasn’t about technology. It was about people” (Price 2000).