Science Fiction is No Longer Fiction - Hello, Robot at V&A Dundee

V&A Dundee's latest exhibition explores the relationship between humans and machines, asking what the future looks like for us and our robotic companions. This show studies how popular culture has affected our perception of robots and how robots have transformed our lives.  

Illustration by Jay Cover

Have you ever met a robot? Chances are you have. In fact, you probably have one in your pocket right now. Robotic technology has come to exist in our everyday lives, from mobile phones, self-checkouts at supermarkets to drones in the sky. 'Hello, Robot. Design Between Human and Machine' is originally from the Vitra Design Museum in Germany and has been adapted for V&A Dundee. Through a series of probing questions, the exhibition studies the 'science and fiction of robots'.

Illustration by Jay Cover 

'Can we trust robots?' is one of the questions put to the visitor in this exhibition. According to many books and films, Blade Runner for example, the answer is categorically 'no'. Popular culture has shaped our views on what we consider to be a 'robot' and how we see robots in the dichotomic terms of either serving or destroying humankind. When you imagine a robot you may think of the humanoids of Star Wars, but this exhibition demonstrates that the definition is much broader.

The first section of the exhibition is a cabinet of robotic curiosities, including the likes of R2-DT. The exhibition passes through a 'factory', examining robots and industry. It displays some sturdy machines conducting very delicate tasks. Finally the exhibition opens up into a world's fair of robotic technology, which among other topics explores human vulnerability and emotional connections to robots. This section includes Paro, a therapeutic robot in the form of a baby seal, designed to comfort patients in hospitals and other care facilities where the documented benefits of live animal therapy are unable to be delivered.

This exhibition opens up discussion about what the future holds for mankind and machine. The technological achievements humans have reached today were unfathomable fifty years ago - no longer science fiction, they are fact. What will the next fifty years look like?

Tickets are £6-£12, although access to the gallery next door containing the sculpture 'Up-Sticks' is free entry. This sculpture, commissioned by Gramazio Kohler for V&A Dundee, was made using a 'collaborative human-robotic fabrication technique'. 

The exhibition sits within a beautiful design (by de Pass Montgomery), complimented by playful illustrations (by Jay Cover). 

I cannot hide the fact that I am somewhat biased when it come to this museum as I have done and am currently working with V&A Dundee on their temporary exhibition projects! But putting my bias aside, a visit to V&A Dundee (which is only 1 year old) is well worth it not only for this exhibition but also to take in this unusual building sat on the River Tay.

llustration by Jay Cover 

Links below:
https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/exhibitions/hello-robot
https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/exhibitions/up-sticks

* All content, including photos are my own