Between 11th and 26th October, members of the Somabotics Fellowship travelled to Amsterdam to collaborate with renowned artists Lancel/Maat in delivering Embrace Angels—a captivating immersive art experience featured at the Cinekid Festival, held at Pathé Amsterdam Noord.

Angela Higgins, a PhD student at the Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training, University of Nottingham, shared reflections on her time in Amsterdam:

“For the past week, I have been at Cinekid in Amsterdam with the Somabotics: Creatively Embodying AI team, exploring what it might mean for robots to embrace. We have experienced beautiful moments, navigated challenges, and—most importantly—shared hundreds of hugs! I am excited to reflect on what this experience reveals about Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), especially when robots engage with humans in ways that go beyond pure functionality. Huge thanks to my wonderful colleagues and to the visionary artists Lancel/Maat for bringing this experience to life.”

This international collaboration builds on the first presentation of Embrace Angels, which debuted earlier this summer at Nottingham Contemporary, continuing to push boundaries in art, technology, and embodied AI.