This research examines existing and future robotic morphologies. Robots can transcend the often arbitrary relationship between technology and form through their performance of analogous tasks. Increasingly self-reflective and autonomous robots may communicate with speech and movement, potentially replacing the traditional computer interface with the signs and symbols of fundamental human communication. This presents a unique and challenging opportunity for morphological exploration. Through interviews with leading professionals in a variety of associated fields, this project aims to initiate an interdisciplinary discourse to better define a spectrum of robotic design methodologies. The work explores beneficial and destructive implications of robots in everyday culture, acknowledging them as a significant force in the shaping our complex relationship with technology.

Leon Ransmeier is the founder and director of Ransmeier Inc., a New York City based industrial design practice. Clients include Herman Miller, Wright 21 and Droog. Born in New York in 1979, Ransmeier graduated in 2001 from the Rhode Island School of Design. His products have been exhibited in the 2006 and 2010 Triennials at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. In 2011 his work was presented at SFMOMA alongside the exhibition Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams and is included there in the permanent collection.