Images viaSpecies of Illumination, the two new interactive desk lamps from Dutch design studio de Graaf, are the perfect cure for a weekend of weird robot news and Johnny Depp-potheoses: if newly-released videos of Jordan Wolfson's gyrating fembot, and trailers for Transcendence have you trembling in fear of an oncoming technopocalypse, allow Wallace and Darwin, the adorable, autnonomous robot lighting duo, to reassure you: the future is here to help."The interaction and emotional relationship Wallace and Darwin bring contribute to people's well being, in the same way that pets do. The movement of living creatures triggers sensations, emotions and communication," said designer Bob de Graaf, in his 2011 unveiling of the project at Graduate show Design Academy Eindhoven,The two-robot team works based on a sort of scout-and-report-style workflow: Darwin, the solar-powered bot on wheels, scoots its way around a perimeter, seeking human companions. Once activated, Darwin signals Wallace, the ceiling-mounted lamp, to illuminate darkened surrounding areas.Below, images of Wallace and Darwin in action:
Species of Illumination is a much-needed injection of ingenuity in a robo-culture seemingly obsessed with its own impending destruction. But no matter your thoughts on the triumphs or terrors of autonomous man-made machines, one thing is for sure: robotic companionship just got a whole lot more illuminating.h/t dezeen
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