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arXiv · 2607.02174

Choreographing the Way of Water: A Computational Framework for Aquatic Robotic Art

Aswin Ramachandran·Christopher Golling·Sebastian Burmester·Noa Sendlhofer·Jan Kamm·Ruiheng Jiang·Raffaello D'Andrea
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Abstract

Robotic choreography in open water is governed by nonlinear fluid dynamics, which impose significant challenges due to environmental disturbances and nonlinear system dynamics. This paper presents the cyber-physical architecture of Way of Water, a vertically integrated framework that orchestrates a fleet of autonomous surface vessels as a distributed choreographic platform. Moving beyond the surface-pixel paradigm, these vessels use laminar nozzles and multi-zone lighting to extend their expressive range from the 2D water plane into the 3D volumetric domain. Our primary contribution is the Way of Water Studio, a browser-based, timeline-compositing authoring paradigm that treats the fleet as a DAW-like instrument for music-responsive choreography. The Studio encapsulates Sequential Convex Programming for trajectory generation and Model Predictive Control for disturbance rejection presented through a visual timeline, broadening access to high-performance aquatic robotics for non-programmer artists. Grounding the Studio is the full cyber-physical stack: a custom holonomic chassis, a state-estimation and control stack tuned for the aquatic domain, and an LTE/MQTT fleet link with RTK-GPS time synchronization. We report on the system's validation across two distinct deployments: an 18-vessel Swan Lake interpretation at Lake Zurich and an 8-vessel Time Space Existence 2025 Venice Biennale demonstration at Forte Marghera, establishing a foundational reference for the design and deployment of fluidic robotic swarms.

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Aswin Ramachandran, Christopher Golling, Sebastian Burmester, Noa Sendlhofer, Jan Kamm, Ruiheng Jiang, Raffaello D'Andrea. 2026-07-02. Choreographing the Way of Water: A Computational Framework for Aquatic Robotic Art. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.02174

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