Pors & Rao are an artist-duo based in Bangalore, who have been working together since 2004.
This is a brief introduction to their bespoke robotic animation project "PATHOS", including a key new feature recently developed with the support of Google Arts & Culture.
Observer by Pors & Rao
Aparna Rao and Søren Pors’ body of work explores emotion and awareness, human and animal behaviour patterns, and the expression of sentience through life-like movement and response.
Someone's Coming by Pors & Rao
They have been exhibiting internationally since 2004, their body of work exploring how behavioural algorithms can animate objects and installations, as if they were alive.
Inside the artwork "Pygmies" by Pors & Rao
PATHOS is a platform that makes these playful robotics animations accessible, allowing artists and non-engineers to program and use robotics as a performative medium of movement and response.
Soldering at ETH Zurich
PATHOS was initiated by Aparna and Søren at NTB Buchs in 2014 and moved to Wyss Zurich in 2017. They are currently Artists in Residence and Project Directors at the RAUC (Robotics Aesthetics & Usability Center) at ETH Zurich which they started in 2020, to continue the project.
The focus is to develop robotic toolkits for artists extracted from their language of motion and response. The first workshop kit is called Being.
Anatobes by Pors & Rao
The project builds on their decades-long pursuit of ideas of life-like 'beings' and sentient behaviour patterns.
It also addresses the frustration they experienced when trying to realize them in the medium of robotics; something very hostile to non-engineers.
PATHOS Robotic Animation Tool by Pors & Rao
Working with Google Arts & Culture, Pors & Rao developed a key tool as part of PATHOS. The tool is a browser-based interface that allows users to directly animate motors in great detail without knowing much about technology.
Previously, this was not possible without working closely with an advanced engineer.
PATHOS: Robotic animation tool demo
Specifically, the project allows users to import or sketch multiple vector-point motion curves in a browser interface that connects wirelessly to the motors.
Preparations for the Wyss event by Pors & Rao
And PATHOS is just getting started. These tools mark the first steps in the development of an open platform that presents new possibilities in the fields of visual aesthetics, whilst demonstrating that robotics can be accessible to everybody.
Watch a short documentary about PATHOS
Aparna Rao explains the PATHOS project in more detail.
PATHOS was initiated by Aparna and Søren at NTB Buchs in 2014 and moved to Wyss Zurich in 2017. They are currently Artists in Residence and Project Directors at the RAUC (Robotics Aesthetics & Usability Center) at ETH Zurich which they started in 2020, to continue the project. The focus is to develop robotic toolkits for artists extracted from their language of motion and response. The first workshop kit is called Being.