Waiting in the Wings: Drones in Live Performance

Zachary McKendrick, Ori Fartook, Patrick Finn, Ehud Sharlin, Jessica Cauchard

Keywords: Human Drone Interaction, Performance Practice, Interaction Techniques

TL;DR: This paper investigates the application of performance techniques to support human drone interaction.

Abstract: Drones inhabit live performance spaces from Cirque du Soleil to the Olympics. Can Human Drone Interaction (HDI) research learn from live performance? This paper positions HDI research within a formal performance framework. We build on existing HDI and performance collaborations through Laban Movement Analysis (LMA), and present findings from a Performance Workshop (PW) conducted with professional performers focusing on the unique expressive qualities of drones. Our findings expand on LMA and contribute a drone-specific movement lexicon and framework for use in HDI research that introduces height and proximity as key factors in nonverbal communication. Additionally, we explore live performance applications as a new design space and classification system for HDI research use cases. We suggest that performance approaches can result in more intentionally expressive drones that improve communication providing deeper connections with human actors on stage and with audience members.

Track: HCI/visualization

Revision: No

Summary Of Changes:

1. Improved the clarity of our Related Work by:
a. Outlining the main themes of our related works in our Section 2 introduction.
b. Reorganizing the information within the paper to boost thematic flow and scaffold our approach to the domain.
c. Consolidating Sections 2 and 3 to better demonstrate the correlations between HDI research and performance applications.

2. Improved the quality of the structure of the paper as a whole by:
a. Editing the entire paper for clarity.
b. Reframing our introduction to better establish our position and provide context for our inquiry.
c. Focusing our research question to better articulate our interest in and exploration of using performance techniques to further develop existing collaborations within HDI research.
d. Providing a clear step-by-step walkthrough of the paper in the introduction before moving on to our related works.
e. Improve the transitions between each section.
f. Rewriting our abstract to reflect the contents of the paper.

3. Clarified the Study Design by:
a. Elaborating on the origins and benefits of workshop models in performance spaces.
b. Including pieces from performance workshop approaches that may be useful as a model for future HDI research.