Jed Berks’ Autonomous Light Air Vehicles combine many of the themes of artificial life and multi-agent robotics research in an accessible and elegant public presentation. These include capable powered navigation and obstacle avoidance, organized multi-agent behaviour (such as flocking), discernable (quasi) intelligent individual behaviour, and interaction with other (quasi) intelligent agents, i.e., people. Connecting these agendas with more contemporary interest in mobile and locative technologies, Berk has implemented human-ALAV communication via mobile phone technology. The rigors of such a project must not be elided. While robots in research-lab contexts often exhibit remarkable capabilities, they are just as often delicate, unreliable and require the constant attention of one or several highly trained staff. A project like ALAVs must exhibit its qualities in the general public, must inform and entertain, and at the same time be robust and resilient to the unpredictabilities of unusual architectures and architectural materials, weather, children and crowds (and sometimes, animals) - influences which are almost always filtered out in the controlled environment of the lab. The ALAVs achieve all this, while remaining lighter than air, an achievement in itself given the weight of batteries and other components. The ALAVs are beguilingly delicate translucent agents which drift and float in a most un-robotic way.

Biography

Jed Berk’s work explores ideas related to the transient point in nature where evolution might occur.” Transitional Species” is a body of networked sculptures that interact with their environment, an audience and each other. In this work he employs the use of emerging technologies to create technological biotopes of semi-domesticated, biologically inspired sculptures that live in network-based ecosystems. Presently Berk creates installations where an audience can actively engage and cohabit with multiple species thereby affecting their behaviours and the environment. The Use of technology creates a tangible link between the physical and virtual by giving form to invisible and intangible networks. An emotional response to the “species” cultivates new relationships. His over arching interest is in developing large, multiple biotopes placed globally and capable of communicating with each other simultaneously, transcending language and cultural barriers. Having received much media attention and acclaim from the art, science and technology communities, Berk’s work has been included in media/robotic festivals, exhibitions and technology conferences through out the US, Europe and Asia. Berk presently is teaching workshops related to robotic species. Born in New York, Berk lives in Los Angeles, CA. He received a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Art Center College of Design. He has shown in the US and internationally in institutions such as Brandts, Odense, Denmark, Beall Center for Art + Technology, Irvine, CA; Art Center Nabi, Seoul, Korea; ACM, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA; and Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA. Jed’s work has also reached a broad audience with the ALAVs international television debut on the Discovery Network. Jed Berk has collaborated with, Julian Bleecker, Ewan Branda, Bruce Hubbard and Nikhil Mitter on ALAVs 2.0.