What are some of the major challenges you face in your research?
Working as a robotic artist requires depending on other people. It can be stressful not having complete autonomy and control over all the phases of production. However, working with other students and professionals is also a gift. Among other things, it can take me to unexpected places that I would not have arrived at by myself.
What person, experience or moment in time first inspired you to study this subject and get involved in the field?
My interest in combining mathematics, engineering and science with my artwork began during my undergraduate and master’s degrees at Universidade de Brasília. During this period, I was fortunate to have had remarkable professors who shaped my formal education, mostly in the traditional techniques of drawing and sculpture.
Two professors in particular, Dianne Viana (Mechanical Engineering) and Sonia Paiva (Scenography), inspired me to escape from traditional art forms and work collaboratively outside my area of expertise.
How can interested STEM students get involved in this line of research? What advice would you give them?
If you want to get involved with robotic art, make partnerships, apply for grants and find professors who can support your research. Also, try to go beyond the first couple of things that pop up in your mind when you are facing a subject. Address your thoughts and those of others with rigour and integrity. Get rid of what does not have substance and explore unfamiliar territories.
What do you like best about being at Concordia?
The highlight for me is its diversity. It is a friendly and multicultural environment where you can form all kinds of collaborations.
For example, I have three supervisors from different departments, and I participate in several clusters, like HYCONS, TAG and Hexagram. Each allows me to look at machine behaviours from profoundly different perspectives.
Are there any partners, agencies or other funding/support attached to your research?
My scholarship is granted by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) from Brazil. I received a grant from Hexagram for my PhD research–creation project, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) funded the drone and Luis Rodrigues personally funded the photographer of this project.
Find out more about Concordia’s HYCONS Lab.