When Robots Dream

Abstract

I have always been deeply invested in the genre of science fiction and the technology created for and from it. Understanding that the role of science fiction is first and foremost to invent the future, I seek to marry the use of futuristic technologies with traditional methods of making furniture, creating a form that is functional, fantastical, and ironic. In order to accomplish this, I have created RBT-X, a series of six tables that take the form of robots. Each table is composed of Baltic Birch and Cherry woods, the bodies of which have been illustrated with the aesthetic of robots, created by laser engraving into the wood. The tables themselves are constructed using traditional woodworking techniques, which highlight the warmth of the material and the familiarity of the form as furniture. Each table in the RBT-X series has a particular function as a table. This can be seen in the range of tables created within this series; a prototype end table, a production-ready end table, a personal desk, a hall table, a coffee table, and a work bench. Each table is illustrated in such a way that there is an illusionary sense of individuality in the robotic qualities of the piece. This series carries a sense of irony/absurdity both in the non-functionality of each piece as a robot as well as in the bulk of the robotic bodies when compared to a simple tabletop. RBT-X is a glimpse into the future while being firmly rooted in the present.