Project

The EBIFA robot (Everything Beautiful Is Far Away)

Tim Saputo, Xin Liu

Project Contact:

Groups

Space Exploration Initiative

EBIFA (Everything Beautiful Is Far Away) is a crystalline robotic device that carried a tooth to outer space. EBIFA's form and function follow an unusually personal approach to our technological space futures, one centered on visceral, active, empathic, and poetic engagement.

Research Topics

#robotics #architecture #art #manufacturing #performance #space #alumni #engineering #industry

Once entering apogee, the EBIFA device is designed to be released and demonstrate a new mechanism for navigating in three-dimensional space. By shooting the string out and dragging the body once the tethered projectile is attached to a remote, anchored surface, the mechanism enables spatial navigation with minimal impetus in the zero-gravity environment.

EBIFA is part of a series of research projects that explore free body motions in a microgravity environment. Inspired by the three-dimensional moving patterns of arachnids, the team is developing technologies at both the human body (Orbit Weaver) and mini-robots scale. The EBIFA experiment will be the first spider-like, robotic dance in weightlessness.