Collaborators: Michael Bartosch, Eyal Einik, Paul Fromm, Greta Modesitt + Jason JohnsonRobotic Ecologies can be defined as promiscuous new environments brought forth by the rapid release of advanced computation into the physical realm. The prototype is not simply a kinetic architectural machine, rather it is a group of mini machines that move with intelligence.An extraordinary new phylum of intelligent machines is coming to life in laboratories, studios and machine shops across the planet. Designers are building and programming kinematic self-replicating machines, modular self-assembling robots, fields of sun-tracking robotic sunflowers, and the like. As Marshall McLuhan famously said:“First we build the tools, and then they build us.”This is about experimenting, exposing and exalting these new tools, processes and technologies. It is about exploring what happens when endless arrays of intelligent machines come together to form and define the world around us.¹Robotic Ecologies work collectively in swarms or packs. The prototype will engage stimuli and negotiate itself based on the designed system and calibrated parameters. The intersection of architecture and robotics is explored through the creation of a robotic prototype. The prototype must be capable of intelligent behavior – the capacity to learn, adapt and act on senses and intuitions.-Adapted from Syllabus by Jason Johnson