Otto

Most robotic projects are either highly practical or entirely artistic, but we chose to place experimentation at the center of this project.

Our aim was to refine our approach to exploring ideas quickly in advanced robotics manipulation—where the objects involved are rarely solid, uniform, or predictable. This was about creating a method to tackle complex, uncertain ideas with speed and precision, without predefined goals or fixed outcomes—just an open space to learn, discover, and master as we went.

Programming robots usually takes a long time. There is a lot of back-and-forth between the simulated environment and the physical machine, with endless refinements to get things just right. While this approach works for automation, it does not leave much space for exploration or play.

For this project, we turned to animation tools, using software like Maya to choreograph the robots instead of programming them in the traditional way. This method allowed us to move faster—iterating and refining the movements of our robots.

To work with this chaos, we had to carefully design our setup. We kept the room’s humidity constant. We built tools, or “end effectors,” that the robots could use without breaking the surface tension of the soap. We controlled airflows and speeds and even created a custom soap formula that suited the process.

It was a constant push and pull between controlling the material and letting it do what it wanted. Soap is not something you can fully tame. You work with its tensions—surface tension, the tension of time, the tension of fragility—and you try to coax beauty out of it.

Throughout the project, moments of awe shaped our process. One example was realizing how a thread or a ring create a hole in a soap film. It is simple to do by hand but much more complex with robots. You need fine control, air pressure, and precise timing. Another breakthrough was learning to unfold a coiled ring of soap film into a flat surface without having it pop or evaporate.

Not all of our experiments made it to the end. At one point, we built a ramp of soap film and sent bubbles sliding down it like a playground slide. It was mesmerizing in person but did not translate well on camera. These decisions—what to keep and what to let go—became part of the process. We focused on the experiments that carried a sense of wonder and worked well in the final presentation.

01

From Film to Fleeting Float is a choreography where two soap surfaces are transformed into a single large floating bubble. Exploring principles like minimal surfaces and surface tension and creating a moment of awe along the way.

02

Advanced Dance of Abundance features two robots competing over a single bubble, only to discover they could create a wealth of bubbles by working together. This choreography challenged our team to find the sweet spot between precision and tolerance to handle the precious bubble that both robots seem to seek—picking it up and stretching it in different directions.

03

Voyage of the Unavoidable Void begins with a soap sheet being unfolded, then punctured to create a hole, to then end with bubbles being blown through it. Perhaps the most technically challenging of the three choreographies, this sequence demanded precise motion control and synchrony to create a mesmerizing effect—a void in a soap surface.

Technically, the project relied on a mix of custom tools, industry equipment, and craftsmanship. We used two Kuka robotic arms, a Controllino board to manage air and soap supplies, an air compressor, a custom stainless steel basin, and a range of rapidly prototyped end effectors. These tools were 3D printed in-house, with some designed to integrate soap supply directly.

On the software side, we used Rhino and Fusion for modeling, Grasshopper for simulation work, and Maya for motion. The animation pipeline gave us precise control over the robots’ movements and allowed us to create fluid, choreographed gestures.

This project reinforced some of our beliefs and challenged others.

The first is that curiosity must come first. The simple act of wondering—at how a bubble forms, at how soap can stretch, at how tension holds—seems to be.

Second, we found great value in borrowing methods from other fields. Using animation tools allowed us to work faster and explore ideas that would have been impossible with traditional robotic programming; that was something we shied away from before, but now found the right place for in our process.

And finally, this project reminded us of the power of tension—not just physical tension, but the tension between opposites. Between fragility and strength, chaos and control, delicacy and precision. These tensions are where our team likes to operate.