Engineering and IT News

Robot Stars in Movie at Federation Square

A ROBOT designed and constructed at Deakin University will make its acting debut at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image at Federation Square next month.

The robot will star in a short film by the Victorian College of the Arts students titled ‘Lone’ on December 8, 14 and 15.  The film is a science fiction drama that follows the robot and his human co-star after the two become the last inhabitants of earth.

Deakin PhD student Ben Horan designed the robot in the Intelligent Systems Research Lab (ISR) at the Geelong Campus at Waurn Ponds.  Filming began in August and was completed in early September.

The film will screen 5pm on Saturday, December 8, 7pm on Friday, December 14 and 7.45pm on Saturday, December 15.

After it is aired at the event at Federation Square in Melbourne it is expected to be entered in festivals in Australia and overseas.

Deakin University PhD student Ben Horan said he had enjoyed the opportunity to be part of the production.

“It’s a great opportunity to use the knowledge and skills that I have developed at Deakin and in the Intelligent Systems Research Lab in a different way,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the film on the big screen.”

Mr Horan designed the robot after he was given a brief on its appearance and he was responsible for enabling the robot to perform using sensors and other electronic systems. 
Mr Horan is part of a team that works in the ISR in Deakin University’s School of Engineering and Information Technology to build and develop semi-autonomous systems, such as the robot that is being designed for the film.