Painting with Robots

This course is aimed at designers who wish to explore the creative potential of algorithms and robotics. Using Java, Processing, and KUKA IIWA robots, participants will learn to develop interactive works that emerge through a dialogue between human and machine.

Key data

ECTS points: 2 ECTS
Next start: 03.11.2025
Duration: 1 Week
Teaching language: German/English
Place: Basel
Fee: CHF 600.–

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Fotocredit: Azura Silberschmidt

At the heart of this course lies an artistic and experimental collaboration with robots—equipped with pens or brushes—that not only execute programmed instructions, but actively engage in a creative dialogue with participants. Through the interplay of human and machine decisions, works emerge that challenge conventional ideas of authorship.
The course makes use of the Java programming language, the visual-oriented development environment Processing, and KUKA IIWA robots. These robots are specifically designed for safe human-robot collaboration (HRC) and respond sensitively to resistance and touch, enabling an interactive and nuanced design process.
Participants will learn to think algorithmically as designers and to translate these ideas into code. At the same time, the course invites critical reflection through questions such as: Who programs whom? Who owns the creative process? What does collaboration mean in the context of technical systems? This course encourages participants to rethink boundaries between tool, co-creation, and authorship—and to expand their own design practice through innovative technologies.

Lecturer

Daniel Nikles is a post-industrial designer and robotics researcher working at the intersection of art and design. He holds an MA in Design from the Academy of Art and Design Basel, FHNW (2018), and specializes in the use of industrial robots for creative processes. Daniel teaches in the BA program in Process Design at HyperWerk and is particularly interested in rapid prototyping and the interplay between digital and physical forms of design. More at danielnikles.com.

General Information Workshop Institute Experimental Design and Media Cultures (IXDM)

The Institute Experimental Design and Media Cultures (IXDM) assembles students, educators, and researchers from a wide variety of backgrounds and seeks to leverage practices of art & design for comprehensive social, political and ecological transformation. It is organized around two spaces and communities – HyperWerk and Critical Media Lab – and houses the Bachelor programme Process Design, the Master programme Experimental Design, and the PhD programme Make/Sense.

Goals and benefits

Participants will learn creative programming with Java and Processing and gain a foundational understanding of human-robot collaboration. They will develop their own design algorithms and implement them using KUKA IIWA robots. The goal is to expand their own practice through innovative technologies and to discover new forms of collaborative work.

Target Audience

Basic programming skills and prior experience with digital tools in a creative context can be helpful, but are not required. What matters most is an openness to experimental, interdisciplinary work at the intersection of technology and design. As this course is part of the cross-university CoCreate program, participants should be willing to collaborate with students.

The course is aimed at designers and artists interested in creative, code-based approaches; at designers looking to explore robotic and algorithmic processes; as well as at educators, mediators, and researchers working in the fields of art, design, and technology. Media artists and anyone curious about hybrid creative processes between humans and machines are also warmly welcome.

Course organisation

Format
Monday–Tuesday: Inputs, with hybrid participation possible (on site or online)
Wednesday–Friday: Hands-on experiments on site

Schedule
Monday: 10:00–12:00 / 13:00–16:00 Tuesday–Friday: 09:00–12:00 / 13:00–16:00

This course is part of the cross-university CoCreate program and is open to both students and continuing education participants.

Fee

Multiple Bookings:
2 ECTS CHF 900.-
4 ECTS CHF 1700.-
6 ECTS CHF 2400.-
8 ECTS CHF 3000.-
10 ECTS CHF 3500.-

20% discount with a valid student ID. This must be sent in with the registration (pdf).

Information and regulations

Terms of participation (PDF)
Information on continuing education FHNW (fhnw.ch/DE)
Continuing education regulations of the universities FHNW (fhnw.ch/DE)

Institute Experimental Design and Media Cultures (IXDM)

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