Beginning at NYU in Jan 2013 within the context of a Patents Translation course delivered online, this blog seeks to uncover the patents that rock our daily lives....
At the intersection of Black Lives Matter, the legacy of Jim Crow laws from the South, the resurgence of the KKK, and the horrors of the unequal impact of the COVID 19 pandemic in the USA, Nick Cave's Soundsuits, evoke yet another dimension of personal protection.
In the artist and dancer's own words, regarding the transformation and empowerment felt wearing a Soundsuit, Nick Cave states:
"a suit of armor where I hid my identity. I was inside a suit, you couldn't tell if I was a woman, or a man; if I was black, red, green or orange; from Haiti or South Africa. I was no longer Nick. I was a shaman of sorts." (Quoted in Fine Arts, Fall 2020.)
(1) Recently acquired by the De Young Museum in San Francisco, CA, the Nick Cave Soundsuit (2008) is currently on show in the Museum's Saxe Gallery.
References
Burgard, T. A . (Fall 2020) Nick Cave's Sounsuits: Moving Sculpture. Fine Arts. p. 22. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco - de Young - Legion of Honor.
OHSU – Oregon Health and Science University, anesthesiology
resident, Dr. Jason Campbell, aka The TikTok Doc,is showing fellow co-workers how to dance on
the front lines of the COVID 19 pandemic. Just a few stepsto reduce the stress of long hours, and to
brighten some of the darkest moments of history. Medical work is undoubtedly
serious. However, at the end of the day, so is dancing, since it recharges everyone with positive
energy, puts a lot of smiles on faces, and keeps everyone sane.
The dancing videos were first posted on TIKTOK, a Chinese-owned
short-form video app, popular in the US,
downloadable for free. Doctors originally began using TIKTOK to counter the
spread of medical misinformation (Goldberg, 2020). The gambit was to meet halfway with 1.5
billion users, 40% between the ages of 14 and 24, to spread reliable medical information
on topics such as sex-ed, vaping and
nutrition, hoping it would go viral. Some
Doctor-generated content reached wide audiences, only it was the TikTok Doc
dancing lesson videos that truly went viral, with 4 million hits plus more, within the context of the COVID 19 pandemic.
The rest is history.
Dr. Campbell was even interviewed live (in a synchronistic session) with the GMA (Good Morning America) show at the beginning of April (GMA April 3; GMA April 8). Below, an AFP compilation of a few of the Dr. Campbell aka Dr. TikTok dance steps videos, including the foot greetings and chachachaclips.
In the finest tradition of modern and post-modern dance, where the exploration of even the most dislocated body movement becomes medium of expression, or where grace and elegance might be found in everyday movement, dancers on lockdown are performing from their homes. Inspired by the most mundane tasks, such as drying your hair, sweeping, and cooking, dancers are practicing and creating in very tight spaces, completely unsuited for dancing, and the propulsion needed for movement-mediated expression.
Despite lockdown orders, social distancing, and canceled theatre programs, dance troupes worldwide, for example in Russia, Europe, Africa, the US and Canada, are safely continuing to perform, The dancers are continuing to create together, exploring new possibilities, showing how they are coping with their new locked-down working conditions, alternatively expressing the new normal. Choreographies on lockdown are thus produced, enabled through cellphone videos of individual performances, in turn, edited, mixed, and composed—enough to continue kindling the spirits of Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham.
The below-referenced, freely available, Youtube performance videos capture a few more modern and post-modern choreographies on lockdown. Choreographies that have prevailed over the assault of the SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) pandemic.
Beyond Nao’s unique and patented appearance in US design patent USD774148S1, this little robot embodies far more inventions. Beginning with Nao’s spine, or central nervous circuitry, each of the little robot’s humanoid features and functions are disclosed in utility patents, granted in the US, in Europe, as well as globally by WIPO.
For example, US2015122073 (A1) titled Spine for a humanoid robot discloses the invention that invokes Nao’s circumscribed spinal capacity for extension, flexion and rotation. This invention is one of several that gives the little robot, a specific set of features that mimic human function. A set of mimetic features that, in turn, and beyond representation, perhaps also offer a laboratory (or mirror) for better understanding certain aspects of human function.
Indeed, US2015122073 (A1) discloses a flexible spine with just two degrees of freedom that attaches to the pelvis at the lower end, and to the neck of the little robot, at the upper end. For practical design and production purposes, the invention spine only bends on two horizontal axes (i.e; right to left, and forward and back). Torque or vertical axis rotations were designed separately from the invention spine, into the little robot’s neck.
The humanoid robot's spine thus comprises just two double acting linear actuators attached to the base of the neck and to the base of the pelvis, which together, or separately, control the forward/backward, right/left movements of the spine, comprising otherwise a flexible rod, and ball joints with just two degrees of freedom, to prevent the flexible rod from buckling. Far greater specification is included in the disclosure of this invention that includes 14 claims.
US2015122073 (A1) is part of a family that includes 5 more patents disclosing Nao’s spine:
WO2013178772 (A1) ― 2013-12-05 - Spinal column for a humanoid robot
JP2015523221 (A) ― 2015-08-13 - Spinal column for a humanoid robot
FR2991221 (A1) ― 2013-12-06 - Spinal column for a humanoid robot
EP2855104 (A1) ― 2015-04-08 - Spine for a humanoid robot
DK2855104 (T3) ― 2017-10-16 - Spinal column for a humanoid robot
The abstract for US2015122073 (A1) is included below with one of the patent drawings showing the design of Nao’s spine.
The invention concerns a spinal column for a humanoid robot, the column (20) comprising a lower base (11) intended to be fixed to a pelvis of the robot (10) and an upper base (13) intended to be fixed to a neck (14) of the robot (10), the spinal column (10) allowing two rotations of the upper base (13) relative to the lower base (11), a first taking place about a sagittal axis (21) and a second taking place about a transverse axis (22). According to the invention, the column (20) comprises a flexible band (25) and linear actuators (26, 27), the band (25) being embedded in a first of the ends (28, 30) thereof at a point (29) in a first of the bases (11, 13) and at least guided at a point (31) in a second of the bases (11, 13), the actuators (26, 27) both being anchored between the two bases (11, 13) at anchoring points (32, 33, 34, 35). For each of the bases (11, 13), the anchoring points (32, 33, 34, 35) of the two actuators (26, 27) and the embedding or guide point (29, 31) of the band (25) are spaced apart.
A video is also included below to show Nao’s range of movements in dance, and for you to witness the mimesis.
Video - 5 Nao robots programmed by Valentin Bertrand to dance to Via Continum by Ez3kiel.
During the month of February and especially, today on V- day, since 2013, Women RISE, DANCE, DISRUPT and CONNECT in a fierce movement against the sexual and physical violence directed at women and girls. The movement is called One Billion Rising! because of the shocking statistic of 1 in 3 women worldwide who will be raped or the victim of violence in her lifetime.
In 2013 One Billion Rising! danced to show their outrage.
In 2014 One Billion Rising! danced for justice.
In 2015 and 2016 One Billion Rising! danced for revolution, in more than 200 countries, with millions of women and girls participating.
In 2017 One Billion Rising! is dancing against exploitation and in solidarity.
The movement grew out of Eve Ensler’s famous play, The Vagina Monologues, performed everywhere on Feb. 14th. The almost as famous theme song of the One Billion Rising! movement,“Break the chain”, was written and produced byTena Clark, with music by Tena Clark and Tim Heintz. The original choreography of the piece was created by Debbie Allen.
Below a video of the original song and the choreographed dances, that Disrupt! Connect! and Occupy! bringing women together, joyfully and globally, in their struggle to end violence.
