Handmade with a Robot

Questioning the well-known human-machine rivalry, this paper explores forms of collaboration between humans and robots in an experimental ceramic crafting context. Special focus lies on the human as craftsperson and the machine as robotic arm. The core experiment is a “role reversal”: Robot and human perform two parts of a „pick-and-place” scenario interchangeably, as well as individually. All experimental setups were evaluated in terms of overall outcome, time, risks, movements, precision and completeness. The result shows that in a dynamic experimental setup the collaboration between robot and human saves time in programming and makes best use of the strengths of both. While the craftsperson benefits from a high degree of flexibility and can adapt quickly, the robot has a more static and continuous role, whose strength lies in precision and persistence. Together, they can compensate for most uncertainties and achieve the best result in this setup.