In recent years, robotics has become a regular feature in artists’ workshops, festival stages and design studios. Articulated arms, digital milling machines, laser cutters and 3D printers are becoming creative partners, paving the way for a new generation of works. This dynamic, which is palpable in Valais, allows for unprecedented exploration of forms, materials and production methods and paves the way for more differentiated creativity.
Without replacing humans, robotics can support imagination while enhancing the precision and complexity of certain creations. The Valais-based company Workshop 4.0 understands this well. It regularly collaborates with artists, scenographers, architects and designers to produce unique pieces. The Sierre-based company has already created sculptures, sets, prototypes, immersive installations and interactive works. These creations, the result of collaborations with artists, have been exhibited at Swiss Design Week, the Mapping Festival in Geneva and in immersive installations in Switzerland and abroad.
‘Our role is not limited to execution. We support creators in their choice of techniques and materials, while ensuring high precision in execution,’ explains Nicolas Fontaine, Director of Workshop 4.0.
The diversity of materials that can be shaped by robotic arms (wood, resin or foam) requires detailed expertise to achieve the desired end result. Sanding, polishing, assembling by hand and adjusting everything to the millimetre is precision work. And this work involves a subtle dialogue between artistic vision and technical solutions. The artist and the technician must work together to find the best compromise between artistic rendering and technical feasibility.
Sculpted creations: between expression and promotion
Robotics offers creative solutions for both art and commercial design. Among Workshop 4.0’s achievements are the two-metre-high cows for Swissmilk, precision-machined for the brand’s promotional stands. From design to finish, every detail has been crafted to meet the aesthetic and technical requirements. The Valais-based company has also collaborated with Swiss artist Valentin Carron to bring his sculptures to life, ensuring that his artistic vision is faithfully transposed using robotics.
In terms of event design, a sculpture designed for the Hoka brand, in collaboration with Brillantine, was used as a backdrop for video projections during the launch of a new pair of shoes in Austin, Texas, demonstrating how digital craftsmanship can enrich the brand experience.
Robotics on stage
Robotics does not just assist in creation: it can also become an actor.
At Geneva Lux, the industrial robot Ilda transformed into a dancer, performing a luminous ballet with a mirror ball. This project, carried out by the Geneva collective CENC and Workshop 4.0, questions the boundaries between human and mechanical interpretation. It was recently presented in Rotterdam at tecart.
‘Freeing the robot from its utilitarian function and integrating it into a creative context opens up fascinating possibilities. The robot becomes a visual and emotional experience,’ says Nicolas Fontaine.
When machines spark emotion
Beyond technology, some projects go even further: they seek to move people emotionally.
The animaIV project, a collaboration between CLAIRE + LÉA and Workshop 4.0, is a perfect example. Inspired by the aesthetics and subtle behaviours of living beings, it transforms robotic tools into interactive sculptures.
Enveloped in a lightweight paper structure, the installation explores a new relationship between robots and matter, playing with the resistance of air, the inflections of gesture and the temporality of movement.
This type of creation redefines our relationship with technology. Robots are no longer cold tools, but entities capable of touching, questioning and feeding the imagination.
Training the creators of tomorrow
To ensure that these projects do not remain exceptions, knowledge transfer is essential. Institutions such as ECAL and EPFL are already working to integrate robotics, parametric design and artistic programming into their curricula. The aim is to democratise access to these tools and train hybrid profiles capable of communicating with artists and engineers alike. But also to offer multifaceted works that combine human ingenuity and technological practicality.
