The culmination of a European research project lead by artists Katrin Hochschuh and Adam Donovan, Empathy swarm experiments with human-robot social interaction, exploring whether robots can feel empathy. Using emotion recognition algorithms and camera tracking, a swarm of 50 robots adapts its behaviour and interacts with the observer. Its formations, animations and behaviour become the vocabulary of swarm expression. Visitors to the exhibition will experience the swarm of a fluid robot formation and discover how machines derive compassionate responses to humans.

The opening will be on Friday 16 August, 6.00pm at QUT Art Museum Brisbane.