Otto — R&D Project, Robotic Choreographies is a research initiative by Berlin-based studio Gentle Systems that investigates the interaction between industrial robotics and unstable materials.
Developed in reference to the centenary of Frei Otto, the project does not attempt to digitally replicate Otto’s tensile structures. Instead, it explores similar questions of form-finding through physical experimentation. Industrial robotic arms, fitted with custom tools, are choreographed using animation workflows to interact with soap films—one of the most minimal surface-forming systems available.
Soap films are structurally precise yet materially unstable. Their geometry is governed by surface tension and environmental conditions rather than rigid constraints. By introducing robotic precision into this system, Gentle Systems stages a controlled encounter with unpredictability.
The robots execute programmed movements, but the resulting forms are contingent: stretching, collapsing, and reforming in response to micro-variations in air, humidity, and motion. The work shifts robotic fabrication away from repeatable output toward ephemeral formation.
The project positions it as a participant in material negotiation. Computation sets parameters; matter completes the form.
The result is a series of experiments in robotic choreography—where motion, timing, and material resistance produce geometries that cannot be fully predetermined.
Project Info
Developers: Gentle Systems
Year: 2025
Image Credit: Haw-lin Services
Project Team:
Engineering Direction · @dev.90
Design Direction · @lucasdiem
Robot Programming · @sambrego.tt
Tool Design + Concept Development · @no_mrzy
Mechanical Engineering · Jan Thröner
Tool Design Support · @t_silluzio
Tool Design + Concept Development · @koritzmoch
Photography · Haw-lin Services (@hawlinservices)
Post-production · Studio Wolfram (@studiowolfram)
