Robotype: Studies of Kinetic Typography by Robot Display for Expressing Letters, Time and Movement

Humans use letters, which are two-dimensional static symbols, for communication. Writing these letters requires body movement as well as spending a certain amount of time; therefore, it can be demonstrated that a letter is a trajectory of movement and time. Based on this notion, the author conducted studies regarding multidimensional kinetic typography, primarily using robots to display a letter and visualize its time and movement simultaneously. This paper describes the project background and design of the three types of robotic displays that were developed and discusses possible expressions using robotic displays.