ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aparna Rao - Artist
A part of the Bangalore-based artist duo Pors & Rao, TED Senior Fellow Aparna Rao works with electro-mechanical systems and interactive installations.

Why you should listen

With the clever use of technology, TED Fellow Aparna Rao creates art installations that let people experience familiar objects and interactions in refreshingly humorous ways. From her sound-sensative "Pygmies" to her 2-person "Uncle Phone," Rao's work encourages participation rather than spectatorship. By combining high-tech and high-art, she imbues her creations with playful expression and quirky behaviors.

Rao studied at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India, and at Interaction Design Institute in Italy. In 2005 she partnered with Soren Pors and they've worked in collaboration ever since as Pors & Rao.

More profile about the speaker
Aparna Rao | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2011

Aparna Rao: High-tech art (with a sense of humor)

Aparna Rao: (帶幽默感的) 高科技藝術

Filmed:
951,514 views

身為藝術家和 TED Fellow 的 Aparna Rao 把熟悉的事物以令人驚訝而更常常具帶幽默感的方式重新想像。與合作伙伴 Soren Pors 一起,Rao 創造出不同的高科技裝置 - 可發電郵的打字機、會在室內追蹤你但使你在屏幕上消失的攝影機 -  把尋常的物件和互動作一下好玩的旋轉。
- Artist
A part of the Bangalore-based artist duo Pors & Rao, TED Senior Fellow Aparna Rao works with electro-mechanical systems and interactive installations. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
Hi你好. Today今天, I'm going to take you through通過 glimpses瞥見
0
0
2000
大家好!今天,我會讓你一睹
00:17
of about eight of my projects項目,
1
2000
2000
我與丹麥藝術家 Soren Pros
00:19
doneDONE in collaboration合作 with Danish丹麥 artist藝術家 Soren索倫 PorsPORS.
2
4000
3000
合作的8個作品。
00:22
We call ourselves我們自己 PorsPORS and Rao,
3
7000
2000
我們叫自己 Pors 與 Rao,
00:24
and we live生活 and work in India印度.
4
9000
2000
我們在印度生活和工作。
00:26
I'd like to begin開始 with my very first object目的,
5
11000
3000
我想從我最初的作品開始,
00:29
which哪一個 I call "The Uncle叔叔 Phone電話."
6
14000
2000
我稱它爲 "叔叔的電話"。
00:31
And it was inspired啟發 by my uncle's叔叔的 peculiar奇特 habit習慣
7
16000
3000
我的靈感來自叔叔的古怪行為,
00:34
of constantly經常 asking me to do things for him,
8
19000
2000
他恆常要我幫他做點事情,
00:36
almost幾乎 like I were an extension延期 of his body身體 --
9
21000
2000
令我好像是他身體的延續 -
00:38
to turn on the lights燈火 or to bring帶來 him a glass玻璃 of water,
10
23000
2000
幫他開燈或拿杯開水,
00:40
a pack of cigarettes香煙.
11
25000
2000
拿包香煙之類。
00:42
And as I grew成長 up, it became成為 worse更差 and worse更差,
12
27000
2000
我長大後,他更變本加厲,
00:44
And I started開始 to think of it as a form形成 of control控制.
13
29000
2000
令我開始覺得這是某種形式的操控。
00:46
But of course課程, I could never say anything,
14
31000
2000
但當然我不容罝喙,
00:48
because the uncle叔叔 is a respected尊敬 figure數字
15
33000
2000
因為叔父在印度家庭中
00:50
in the Indian印度人 family家庭.
16
35000
2000
是受尊敬的人物。
00:52
And the situation情況 that irked激怒 me and mystified迷惑 me the most
17
37000
3000
最令我忿怒和不解的是
00:55
was his use of a landline座機 telephone電話.
18
40000
2000
他使用固網電話的時候。
00:57
He would hold保持 on to the receiver接收器 and expect期望 me to dial撥號 a number for him.
19
42000
3000
他會手持聽筒等我替他撥號。
01:00
And so as a response響應 and as a gift禮品 to my uncle叔叔,
20
45000
3000
所以作爲回應和送給叔叔的小禮物,
01:03
I made製作 him "The Uncle叔叔 Phone電話."
21
48000
2000
我造了這台"叔叔的電話"。
01:05
It's so long that it requires要求 two people to use it.
22
50000
3000
它長到需要兩個人才能使用。
01:08
It's exactly究竟 the way my uncle叔叔 uses使用 a phone電話 that's designed設計 for one person.
23
53000
4000
這正好符合我叔叔使用為一人設計的電話的方式。
01:12
But the problem問題 is that, when I left home and went to college學院,
24
57000
3000
但問題是當我離家上大學後,
01:15
I started開始 missing失踪 his commands命令.
25
60000
2000
我開始懷念他的指令。
01:17
And so I made製作 him a golden金色 typewriter打字機
26
62000
2000
所以我又為他造了一部金色的打字機
01:19
through通過 which哪一個 he could dispense發放 his commands命令
27
64000
2000
他可以用它向世界各地的侄兒侄女
01:21
to nephews侄子 and nieces侄女 around the world世界 as an email電子郵件.
28
66000
3000
發出電郵的指令。
01:24
So what he had to do was take a piece of paper, roll it into the carriage運輸,
29
69000
3000
他要做的是拿張紙,捲入打字機滾軸,
01:27
type類型 his email電子郵件 or command命令 and pull the paper out.
30
72000
3000
打出電郵或指令,再把紙張拉出來。
01:30
This device設備 would automatically自動 send發送 the intended person
31
75000
3000
這部儀器會自動把那封信以電郵方式
01:33
the letter as an email電子郵件.
32
78000
2000
發送到指定的人仕。
01:35
So here you can see, we embedded嵌入式 a lot of electronics電子產品
33
80000
3000
所以你在這裡可以看到我們嵌入了大量
01:38
that understands理解 all of the mechanical機械 actions行動
34
83000
2000
可以了解所有機械動作然後再把它們數碼化
01:40
and converts轉換 it to digital數字.
35
85000
2000
的電子零件。
01:42
So my uncle叔叔 is only dealing交易 with a mechanical機械 interface接口.
36
87000
3000
所以我的叔叔只是接觸機械的介面。
01:45
And of course課程, the object目的 had to be very grand盛大 and have a sense of ritualism形式主義,
37
90000
3000
當然,這件物件還要合乎我叔叔喜歡的
01:48
the way my uncle叔叔 likes喜歡 it.
38
93000
2000
要很有氣派和儀式的味道。
01:50
The next下一個 work is a sound-sensitive聲音敏感 installation安裝
39
95000
3000
另一件作品是對聲音敏感的裝置
01:53
that we affectionately深情 call "The Pygmies俾格米人."
40
98000
3000
我們親切地稱它們為"俾格米人"。
01:56
And we wanted to work with a notion概念 of being存在
41
101000
2000
我們想營造一個
01:58
surrounded包圍 by a tribe部落 of very shy害羞, sensitive敏感 and sweet creatures生物.
42
103000
4000
被一群非常害羞、敏感和甜美的生物圍繞的感覺。
02:02
So how it works作品 is we have these panels面板, which哪一個 we have on the wall,
43
107000
3000
我們在牆上裝上這些面板,
02:05
and behind背後 them, we have these little creatures生物 which哪一個 hide隱藏.
44
110000
3000
在面板背後匿藏了這些小生物。
02:08
And as soon不久 as it's silent無聲, they sort分類 of creep爬行 out.
45
113000
3000
當環境靜下來,他們便會立刻爬出來的樣子。
02:11
And if it's even more silent無聲, they stretch伸展 their necks脖子 out.
46
116000
2000
更靜一點的話,他們更伸長脖子。
02:13
And at the slightest絲毫 sound聲音, they hide隱藏 back again.
47
118000
3000
當有輕微聲響時,它們又會躲起來。
02:16
So we had these panels面板 on three walls牆壁 of a room房間.
48
121000
3000
我們在一個房間的三面牆上裝上這些面板。
02:19
And we had over 500 of these little pygmies俾格米人 hiding behind背後 them.
49
124000
3000
後面躲著超過 500個這些小俾格米人。
02:22
So this is how it works作品.
50
127000
2000
它就是這樣操作的。
02:24
This is a video視頻 prototype原型.
51
129000
2000
這是一個原型的錄像。
02:26
So when it's quiet安靜, it's sort分類 of coming未來 out from behind背後 the panels面板.
52
131000
3000
因此,當環境靜下來,他們就會從面板背後爬出來。
02:29
And they hear like humans人類 do, or real真實 creatures生物 do.
53
134000
2000
他們像人類或真正生物一樣有聽覺。
02:31
So they get immune免疫的 to sounds聲音 that scare them after awhile一會兒.
54
136000
3000
因此,當他們聽過能嚇倒他們的聲音一段時間後,便會產生免疫作用。
02:34
And they don't react應對 to background背景 sounds聲音.
55
139000
3000
而不再對背景聲音作出反應。
02:37
You'll你會 hear a train培養 in moment時刻 that they don't react應對 to.
56
142000
3000
一息間你會聽到火車的聲音,而他們不會作出反應的。
02:40
(Noise噪聲)
57
145000
2000
(火車聲)
02:42
But they react應對 to foreground前景 sounds聲音. You'll你會 hear that in a second第二.
58
147000
3000
但他們會對前景的聲音有反應。跟著你就會聽到。
02:45
(Whistling口哨)
59
150000
3000
(口哨聲)
02:50
So we worked工作 very hard
60
155000
2000
所以我們很努力
02:52
to make them as lifelike逼真 as possible可能.
61
157000
3000
盡量把他們造得像真人一樣。
02:56
So each pygmy侏儒 has its own擁有 behavior行為, psyche精神,
62
161000
2000
使每一個俾格米人都有自己的行為,心理狀態、
02:58
mood心情 swings波動, personalities個性 and so on.
63
163000
3000
情緒波動和性格等。
03:01
So this is a very early prototype原型.
64
166000
2000
這是一個很早期的原型。
03:03
Of course課程, it got much better after that.
65
168000
2000
當然,之後就越來越好了。
03:05
And we made製作 them react應對 to people,
66
170000
2000
我們讓他們對人有所反應,
03:07
but we found發現 that people were being存在 quite相當 playful調皮 and childlike孩子似的 with them.
67
172000
4000
我們發現,人們對他們表現得相當頑皮和稚氣。
03:11
This is a video視頻 installation安裝 called "The Missing失踪 Person."
68
176000
3000
這是一個稱為“失踪者” 的錄像裝置。
03:14
And we were quite相當 intrigued好奇
69
179000
2000
我們對把玩隱形的概念
03:16
with playing播放 with the notion概念 of invisibility隱形.
70
181000
2000
很有興趣。
03:18
How would it be possible可能 to experience經驗 a sense of invisibility隱形?
71
183000
3000
如何才能體驗到隱形的感覺呢?
03:21
So we worked工作 with a company公司
72
186000
2000
所以,我們與一家
03:23
that specializes專業 in camera相機 surveillance監控,
73
188000
2000
專門從事攝像監視的公司合作,
03:25
and we asked them to develop發展 a piece of software軟件 with us,
74
190000
3000
我們要求他們與我們一起開發一種軟件,
03:28
using運用 a camera相機
75
193000
2000
利用攝影機
03:30
that could look at people in the room房間, track跟踪 them
76
195000
2000
觀察在房間裡的人,然後追踪他們
03:32
and replace更換 one person with the background背景, rendering翻譯 them invisible無形.
77
197000
3000
再用背景取代一個人,使他們隱形。
03:35
So I'm just going to show顯示 you a very early prototype原型.
78
200000
3000
我現在給你看看一個非常早期的原型。
03:38
On the right side you can see my colleague同事 Soren索倫,
79
203000
2000
在右邊你可以看到我的同事 Soren,
03:40
who's誰是 actually其實 in the space空間.
80
205000
2000
他實際處於那個空間內。
03:42
And on the left side, you'll你會 see the processed處理 video視頻
81
207000
2000
在左邊,你會看到處理過的視頻
03:44
where the camera相機 has made製作 him invisible無形.
82
209000
3000
那裡攝影機使他隱形。
03:47
Soren索倫 enters進入 the room房間. Pop流行的! He goes invisible無形.
83
212000
3000
Soren 進入房間。噗一聲!他就變成隱形。
03:50
And you can see that the camera相機 is tracking追踪 him and erasing擦除.
84
215000
3000
你可以看到相機一直跟踪他然後把他的影像擦除。
03:53
It's a very early video視頻,
85
218000
2000
這是一個非常早期的視頻,
03:55
so we haven't沒有 yet然而 dealt處理 with the overlap交疊 and all of that,
86
220000
2000
那時我們尚未處理影像重疊和其他的問題,
03:57
but that got refined精製 pretty漂亮 soon不久, later後來.
87
222000
3000
但很快之後我們就把它改善了。
04:00
So how we used it was in a room房間 where we had a camera相機 looking into the space空間,
88
225000
3000
我們在房間內放罝攝影機,
04:03
and we had one monitor監控, one on each wall.
89
228000
3000
在每面牆上裝上視屏監視器。
04:06
And as people walked into the room房間,
90
231000
2000
當人們走進房間,
04:08
they would see themselves他們自己 in the monitor監控, except with one difference區別:
91
233000
3000
他們會照常在監視器中看到自己,但是有一處不同:
04:11
one person was constantly經常 invisible無形
92
236000
2000
那就是其中一人
04:13
wherever哪裡 they moved移動 in the room房間.
93
238000
2000
無論他走到那裡都不斷隱形。
04:15
So this is a work called "The Sun太陽 Shadow陰影."
94
240000
2000
這件作品稱為“太陽的影子”。
04:17
And it was almost幾乎 like a sheet of paper,
95
242000
3000
它幾乎就像一張紙,
04:20
like a cutout剪下 of a childlike孩子似的 drawing畫畫
96
245000
2000
好像是充滿童真的兒童剪貼畫中
04:22
of an oil spill or a sun太陽.
97
247000
2000
的油污或太陽。
04:24
And from the front面前, this object目的 appeared出現 to be very strong強大 and robust強大的,
98
249000
3000
從正面看,這個物件似乎是非常強壯和有力的,
04:27
and from the side, it almost幾乎 seemed似乎 very weak.
99
252000
3000
從側面看,它又顯得很虛弱。
04:30
So people would walking步行 into the room房間 and they'd他們會 almost幾乎 ignore忽視 it,
100
255000
3000
所以人們會走進房間,幾乎都會忽略它,
04:33
thinking思維 it was some crap擲骰子 laying鋪設 around.
101
258000
2000
以為是隨意放置的垃圾。
04:35
But as soon不久 as they passed通過 by,
102
260000
2000
但當他們從旁邊走過時,
04:37
it would start開始 to climb up the wall in jerky生澀的 fashion時尚.
103
262000
2000
它會開始抽搐地爬上牆壁。
04:39
And it would get exhausted, and it would collapse坍方 every一切 time.
104
264000
3000
但每次都會耗盡氣力而倒下來。
04:42
(Laughter笑聲)
105
267000
2000
(笑聲)
04:44
So this work
106
269000
2000
這件作品
04:46
is a caricature漫畫 of an upside-down上下翻轉 man.
107
271000
2000
是一個上下顛倒的漫畫圖形人物。
04:48
His head is so heavy, full充分 of heavy thoughts思念,
108
273000
2000
他的頭部很重,充滿沈重的想法,
04:50
that it's sort分類 of fallen墮落 into his hat帽子,
109
275000
2000
就像倒進他的帽子內,
04:52
and his body's身體的 grown長大的 out of him almost幾乎 like a plant.
110
277000
2000
身體像植物一樣從中長出來。
04:54
Well what he does is he moves移動 around
111
279000
2000
他表現出來就是繞著頭部
04:56
in a very drunken fashion時尚 on his head
112
281000
2000
像喝醉酒似的轉動
04:58
in a very unpredictable不可預料的 and extremely非常 slow movement運動.
113
283000
3000
動作極之緩慢而難以預測。
05:01
And it's kind of constrained受限 by that circle.
114
286000
3000
像被那個圓圈制約著。
05:04
Because if that circle weren't there, and the floor地板 was very even,
115
289000
3000
因為如果沒有了那個圓圈,而地板是非常平滑的話,
05:07
it would start開始 to wander漫步 about in the space空間.
116
292000
2000
它會開始在那個空間游走。
05:09
And there's no wires電線.
117
294000
2000
那裡沒有牽線。
05:11
So I'll just show顯示 you an instance --
118
296000
2000
讓我給你看一個實例 -
05:13
so when people enter輸入 the room房間, it activates激活 this object目的.
119
298000
2000
人們進入房間會啟動這件物件。
05:15
And it very slowly慢慢地, over a few少數 minutes分鐘,
120
300000
2000
它非常緩慢地,過幾分鐘後,
05:17
sort分類 of painfully痛苦 goes up,
121
302000
2000
很痛苦的樣子地站起來,
05:19
and then it gains收益 momentum動量
122
304000
2000
然後它得到動力
05:21
and it looks容貌 like it's almost幾乎 about to fall秋季.
123
306000
2000
之後看來又要倒下去。
05:23
And this is an important重要 moment時刻,
124
308000
2000
這是一個重要的時刻,
05:25
because we wanted to instill灌輸 in the viewer觀眾
125
310000
2000
因為我們想觸動觀眾
05:27
an instinct直覺 to almost幾乎 go and help, or save保存 the subject學科.
126
312000
2000
去幫助或拯救那人物的本能。
05:29
But it doesn't really need it,
127
314000
2000
不過,實際上這是不必的,
05:31
because it, again, sort分類 of manages管理 to pull itself本身 up.
128
316000
3000
因為它再次能夠把自己拉起來。
05:34
So this work was a real真實 technical技術 challenge挑戰 for us,
129
319000
3000
這件作品在技術上對我們來說是一項真正的挑戰,
05:37
and we worked工作 very hard, like most of our works作品, over years年份
130
322000
3000
像我們大多數的作品一樣,幾年來我們十分努力
05:40
to get the mechanics機械學 right and the equilibrium平衡 and the dynamics動力學.
131
325000
3000
去弄妥機械力學,找出平衡和動力。
05:43
And it was very important重要 for us
132
328000
2000
對我們來說,十分重要的是
05:45
to establish建立 the exact精確 moment時刻 that it would fall秋季,
133
330000
3000
要確立它將下跌的準確時刻,
05:48
because if we made製作 it in a way that it would topple傾覆 over,
134
333000
3000
因為如果我們把它弄到翻倒,
05:51
then it would damage損傷 itself本身,
135
336000
2000
它會損壞,
05:53
and if it didn't fall秋季 enough足夠, it wouldn't不會 instill灌輸 that fatalism宿命論,
136
338000
3000
但是如果跌得不夠,又不能向人們傳達它即將倒地,
05:56
or that sense of wanting希望 to go and help it.
137
341000
2000
引起人們想要去扶助的感覺。
05:58
So I'm going to show顯示 you a very quick video視頻
138
343000
2000
讓我給你看看一段很快的視頻
06:00
where we are doing a test測試 scenario腳本 -- it's much faster更快.
139
345000
2000
我們正在進行測試 - 它的速度更快。
06:02
That's my colleague同事. He's let it go.
140
347000
2000
那是我的同事。他放開手讓它跌下。
06:04
Now he's getting得到 nervous緊張, so he's going to go catch抓住 it.
141
349000
2000
現在他開始變得緊張,所以他會去抓住它。
06:06
But he doesn't need to,
142
351000
2000
但他不需要這樣做,
06:08
because it manages管理 to lift電梯 itself本身 up on its own擁有.
143
353000
2000
因為它會自己爬起來。
06:10
So this is a work that we were very intrigued好奇 with,
144
355000
3000
這是一件我們很喜歡的作品,
06:13
working加工 with the aesthetic審美 of fur毛皮
145
358000
2000
使用真皮,非常美。
06:15
embedded嵌入式 with thousands數千 of tiny different不同 sizes大小
146
360000
3000
其中嵌入數以千計的微小的不同大小的光纖
06:18
of fiber纖維 optics光學, which哪一個 twinkle眨眼 like the night sky天空.
147
363000
3000
使它在夜空中閃爍。
06:21
And it's at the scale規模 of the night sky天空.
148
366000
2000
它是以夜空的規模製作。
06:23
So we wrapped包裹 this around a blob-like斑點狀 form形成,
149
368000
2000
我們把它包在泡狀物體上,
06:25
which哪一個 is in the shape形狀 of a teddy泰迪熊 bear,
150
370000
2000
像個玩具熊的形狀,
06:27
which哪一個 was hanging from the ceiling天花板.
151
372000
2000
掛在天花板上。
06:29
And the idea理念 was to sort分類 of contrast對比
152
374000
2000
意念是想把
06:31
something very cold and distant遙遠 and abstract抽象 like the universe宇宙
153
376000
3000
像宇宙那樣寒冷、遙遠和抽象的東西
06:34
into the familiar form形成 of a teddy泰迪熊 bear,
154
379000
2000
跟我們熟悉的形狀,
06:36
which哪一個 is very comforting欣慰的 and intimate親密.
155
381000
2000
使我們感到舒適和親密的玩具熊作對比。
06:38
And the idea理念 was that at some point
156
383000
2000
而這個藝術品的概念是在某個時刻
06:40
you would stop looking at the form形成 of a teddy泰迪熊 bear
157
385000
2000
你會不再把它看作為是玩具熊
06:42
and you would almost幾乎 perceive感知 it to be a hole in the space空間,
158
387000
3000
而幾乎是將其視作太空中的一個洞,
06:45
and as if you were looking out into the twinkling閃爍 night sky天空.
159
390000
3000
就像你望向閃爍的夜空一樣。
06:49
So this is the last work, and a work in progress進展,
160
394000
2000
這是最後的一件作品,還未完成的作品,
06:51
and it's called "Space空間 Filler填料."
161
396000
2000
它叫做“空間填充物”。
06:53
Well imagine想像 a small cube立方體 that's about this big
162
398000
2000
想像一個這樣大的小立方體
06:55
standing常設 in front面前 of you in the middle中間 of the room房間,
163
400000
2000
在你面前的房中間,
06:57
and as you approached接近 it, it tried試著 to intimidate威嚇 you
164
402000
3000
當你接近它時,它會試圖嚇唬你
07:00
by growing生長 into a cube立方體
165
405000
2000
把自己增長成
07:02
that's twice兩次 its height高度 and [eight] times its volume.
166
407000
3000
兩倍高、四倍大的立方體。
07:05
And so this object目的 is constantly經常 expanding擴大 and contracting承包
167
410000
3000
這件物件不斷擴大縮小
07:08
to create創建 a dynamic動態 with people moving移動 around it --
168
413000
2000
與走近它的人產生一種動力 -
07:10
almost幾乎 like it were trying
169
415000
2000
就像它意圖
07:12
to conceal隱藏 a secret秘密 within its seams接縫 or something.
170
417000
2000
隱藏它的接縫或其他的秘密。
07:14
So we work with a lot of technology技術,
171
419000
3000
所以我們用到大量科技,
07:17
but we don't really love technology技術,
172
422000
2000
但我們並非真的鍾愛科技,
07:19
because it gives us a lot of pain疼痛 in our work over years年份 and years年份.
173
424000
3000
它給我們的工作帶來年復一年的苦惱。
07:22
But we use it because we're interested有興趣
174
427000
2000
我們利用科技只因我們
07:24
in the way that it can help us
175
429000
2000
對它可幫助我們通過創造的作品
07:26
to express表現 the emotions情緒 and behavioral行為的 patterns模式
176
431000
3000
表達情感和行為模式
07:29
in these creatures生物 that we create創建.
177
434000
2000
而感到興趣。
07:31
And once一旦 a creature生物 pops持久性有機污染物 into our minds頭腦,
178
436000
2000
當我們腦海中閃現一件創作物
07:33
it's almost幾乎 like the process處理 of creation創建
179
438000
2000
就像是一個創造的過程
07:35
is to discover發現 the way this creature生物 really wants to exist存在
180
440000
3000
去發掘這件作品真正想存在的方法
07:38
and what form形成 it wants to take and what way it wants to move移動.
181
443000
2000
和它存在的形式以及移動的方式。
07:40
Thank you.
182
445000
2000
謝謝!
07:42
(Applause掌聲)
183
447000
2000
(掌聲)
Translated by Kai Cheong Chan
Reviewed by Yingzhi Vera Gu

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aparna Rao - Artist
A part of the Bangalore-based artist duo Pors & Rao, TED Senior Fellow Aparna Rao works with electro-mechanical systems and interactive installations.

Why you should listen

With the clever use of technology, TED Fellow Aparna Rao creates art installations that let people experience familiar objects and interactions in refreshingly humorous ways. From her sound-sensative "Pygmies" to her 2-person "Uncle Phone," Rao's work encourages participation rather than spectatorship. By combining high-tech and high-art, she imbues her creations with playful expression and quirky behaviors.

Rao studied at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India, and at Interaction Design Institute in Italy. In 2005 she partnered with Soren Pors and they've worked in collaboration ever since as Pors & Rao.

More profile about the speaker
Aparna Rao | Speaker | TED.com