Athens Ciné Athens, GA
Dr. David Saltz
Robotics Expert and Founding Director of the Interactive Performance Laboratory, University of Georgia
Robot & Frank— Interactive Robots
Program Description
Dr. David Saltz discussed interactive robots and introduced the audience to his robot Zeeb Zob.
Presented At
Athens Ciné Athens, GA
Film Synopsis
In the near future, an ex-jewel thief receives a gift from his son: a robot butler programmed to look after him. But soon the two companions try their luck as a heist team.
In the near future, Frank (Frank Langella) is a retired catburglar living alone, while his successful son, Hunter (James Marsden), tries to care for him from afar. Finally, Hunter gets him a robot caretaker (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard), and Frank soon learns that the robot is useful as a burglary aide. As Frank tries to restart his old profession, the uncomfortable realities of a changing world and his worsening dementia threaten to go beyond what any robot can do for him.
About the Speaker
Dr. David Saltz is head of the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, and executive director of Ideas for Creative Exploration (ICE) at the University of Georgia. He is a specialist in modern drama, performance theory, the philosophy of art, and directing. His primary research focus has been the interaction between live performance and digital media. He was principal investigator of Virtual Vaudeville, a large-scale research project funded by the National Science Foundation to simulate a 19th-century vaudeville performance on the computer. He has explored the use of computer technology extensively in his own work as a director and teacher. Along those lines he established the Interactive Performance Laboratory at UGA, has directed a series of productions incorporating real-time interactive digital media, and has created interactive sculptural installations that have been exhibited nationally. His recent work focuses on robotic theatre. He has published numerous articles in scholarly journals and books, and is co-editor (with David Krasner) of the book Staging Philosophy: Intersections between Theatre, Performance and Philosophy (University of Michigan Press, 2006). Dr. Saltz received a Sandy Beaver Special Teaching Award in 2008. He has served as Secretary of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and as co-editor and then editor of Theatre Journal from 2006–2009. Before coming to Georgia, Dr. Saltz taught at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the College of William and Mary.