Arts in robotics / kinetic installation
Machines
with presence.
UABB 2025 / Photo: TAL + Baiyu
The people behind the work
Art meets roboticists.
Artist · Roboticist · Professor
Dr. Dennis Hong
Artist, roboticist, and professor shaping expressive machines for shared human experiences.
Engineer · Roboticist
Dr. Yusuke Tanaka
Engineer and roboticist building the mechanisms, systems, and motion that bring the work to life.
02 / The Lightness of Submission Shenzhen Art and Technology Biennial, 2026
03 / From lab to gallery
The Lightness of Submission
At UABB, BALLU operated as an autonomous kinetic installation during a daily exhibition that spanned more than three months. Its soft silhouette and carefully paced movement transformed technical resilience into a public, atmospheric experience.
The installation received the Academic Committee Recommendation Award at the 10th Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale.
The Lightness of Submission (2026) is now on view at the inaugural exhibition of the Shenzhen International Museum of Art (SIMoA), held as part of the Shenzhen Art and Technology Biennial (SATB).
04 / UABB
Continuing the encounter.
BALLU in motion at UABB
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02 BALLU installation at UABB
DocumentationBALLU during the UABB holiday season
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Documentation05 / Korea Robot Fashion Show
Movement takes the runway.
At the Korea Robot Fashion Show, BALLU brought its buoyant movement into a runway setting. The performance paired robotic motion with costume, choreography, and a close audience encounter.
BALLU runway movement
Motion studyBALLU fashion-show performance
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03 BALLU at the Korea Robot Fashion Show
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04 BALLU performance detail
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05 BALLU on the runway
DocumentationBALLU Korea Robot Fashion Show documentation
Motion study06 / Exhibition coordinates
A practice in motion,
across the map.
Follow BALLU from gallery to runway. Select an exhibition to bring its location into focus.
BALLU
Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture Shenzhen, China · 22.54°, 114.06°OpenFreeMap / Dark theme
07 / Untitled
A mechanism in motion.
A study of a beautiful, novel mechanism and its linkages. Each movement reveals the relationship between its articulated parts, turning mechanical motion into a quiet choreography.
01 Untitled installation overview
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02 Untitled installation close-up
Documentation08 / Shared curiosity
Designed for a human scale.
BALLU’s safety and stability make room for close interaction. In outreach settings, its animated presence opens an immediate conversation about motion, character, and the ways people imagine robots in everyday life.
Explore the BALLU project
09 / ICRA 24 Arts in Robotics
Where it started.
At ICRA Arts in Robotics — a graceful unveiling where breath and buoyancy first met the public eye.