What is preserved when the hand meets the machine?
The intersection between material tradition and digital fabrication became the departure point for Robotic Glazing Choreography, a workshop hosted at IAAC in collaboration with Ceràmica Cumella.
The workshop was led by myself and Theophile Peju, with technical support from Pit Siebenaler. We brought together designers, technologists, and ceramicists to explore how gestures could be reinterpreted through robotic motion. Using motion tracking, colour sensing, and algorithmic control, participants translated human technique into computational language. The challenge was not to mimic the hand, but to understand what could be preserved when the hand meets the machine.
With the support of Ceràmica Cumella, known for their mastery of clay, glazes, and firing processes, the workshop moved between digital testing and hands-on application. The resulting process revealed a space of negotiation between code and intuition, precision and variability. What emerged was not a new technique, but a new way of thinking through making.
Students from the Master in Robotics and Advanced Construction produced a series of outstanding research projects through the workshop: Robotic Apprentice, which explored motion tracking and robotic replication of brushstroke technique; Fan Only, a cataloguing approach that tested a single fan brush across flat and complex ceramic surfaces; and Bandy Ducks, which developed a library of hand-tracked drawing motions that could be composed and scaled, amplifying the gesture and creating new artistic possibilities.
