Robot creator heads up Festival tech events
Published On Tue 8 Oct 2019 by Dominic Glasgow
YouTube star James Bruton, whose DIY engineering projects have captivated tens of millions of viewers across the globe, will bring his one man (and robot) show to the University of Dundee later this month.
Former toy designer James has an extensive background in robotics and electrical and mechanical engineering. He will give two exclusive performances on Thursday 17 October as part of the University’s Festival of the Future.
James’ belief in innovation by trial and error has led to developing the Electric Batman Skateboard, Barcode Scanner Guitar and Henry Hoover Pipe Organ among other projects that have helped popularise engineering for a new generation.
He also built a life-sized version of the Bumblebee to promote the 2018 Transformers movie of the same name, while his How to Build an Iron Man Helmet and Suit video has attracted more than 61 million views to date.
At the Dundee events, James will be demonstrating how one of his Performance Robots, a life-size human robotic torso specifically created for his live shows, was designed and built. He will also discuss his other projects and his journey from making robots, props and other cool stuff in his spare time to becoming a successful YouTuber with 670,000 subscribers.
James’ visit has been organised by staff at the University’s School of Science and Engineering, who are committed to bringing engineers to Dundee to inspire students, staff and members of the public.
Dr Markus Pakleppa, Lecturer in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering, said, “We invited James since we see a lot of similarities between his projects and the way we are teaching students. Our Engineering degree programmes are all very much hands-on and we encourage our students to apply their knowledge and skills in labs and projects.
“James will talk about the technology and techniques he’s using to build robots while he also demonstrates one of his robots, this will link a lot of our taught content with an exciting practical application. We hope that his visit will show how creativity and engineering skills work together to design something complex like a robot.”
The James Bruton talks are just two of the Festival of the Future events examining the ways in which technology impacts on all aspects of modern life. These include discussions about how robots are shaping the world we live in and how online clickbait, fake news and social media-driven alternatives are changing the way people consume and act upon news.
An augmented reality walking tour will see participants collect parts of Frankenstein’s body around the streets of Mary Shelley’s Dundee while an exploration of how the brains of dancers and their audience coalesce during performances will also take place.
Visitors can also choose to be transported into a fantasy world via green screen technology at a hands-on animation workshop and learn how to break into a visual effects industry that is growing all the time thanks to CGI and other cutting-edge technology.
Festival of the Future runs from Wednesday 16 to Sunday 20 October. Each day of the Festival programme will feature events aimed at children, young people and adults, debates with academics and external speakers and high-profile events featuring prestigious figures from the worlds of science and culture.
Create Converge, an EU project that supports the creative, digital and tech industries in the North Sea Region led by Dundee City Council, Digital Dundee and TayScreen, have sponsored many of the tech events taking place during the Festival’s five-day run.
More information about the Festival of the Future can be found at www.dundee.ac.uk/futurefest.
For media enquiries contact:
Dominic Glasgow
Media Relations Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 385131
Email: d.w.glasgow@dundee.ac.uk