The robotic artwork is located at San Jose Airport…

Coordinated motion of multiple axes is not a straightforward task. When the technology artists behind this motorized sculpture needed an integrated and effective way to choreograph the movement of 65 precisely engineered mechanisms, they recruited the help of Moog Animatics for a SmartMotor™ solution.

The robotic artwork is located at San Jose Airport, Terminal B Gate 19. It was created through a collaboration between artists Banny Banerjee, Matt Gorbet, Susan LK Gorbet and Maggie Orth. The artwork executes complex and precise choreographed patterns of movement such as pulsing to simulate breathing, wave effects, and sequential movements.

The 65 motors are networked together and are triggered with high-level commands sent over RS-232. When a motion command is sent, it is echoed from one motor to the next in each serial chain. There is less than one millisecond delay in these signals and no signal integrity is lost as the commands move down the chain so reliability is greatly improved. SmartMotor™ servos can communicate via RS-232, RS-485, PROFIBUS, Ethernet, and CAN buses all simultaneously. This communication flexibility offers a significant advantage and cost-effectiveness over traditional component-based motion systems.