Abstract This paper presents a theoretical framework for analysing sound design in robotic performance from a scenographic perspective. Whilst robotic performers are increasingly visible in contemporary art venues, from gallery installations to theatre stages, the role of sound as a scenographic and dramaturgical element remains under-theorised. Existing scholarship addresses visual, kinetic and interactive aspects of robotic performance, yet sound’s fundamental function in shaping robotic presence, agency, and affect has received limited systematic study. This is significant because sound fundamentally alters the ontology of robotic performance: a silent industrial arm appears as a mere mechanical device, but the same arm with synthesised breathing sounds or melodic tones becomes reminiscent of a character or agent. Drawing on documented works including Mimus , Inferno , Alter 3, and The Blind Robot , along with theories from sound studies, scenography, posthuman performance, and human-robot interaction research, this paper identifies four overlapping heuristic strategies: mechanical mimicry, contrapuntal composition, procedural soundscapes, and voice synthesis. By positioning sound as scenography rather than simple accompaniment, this framework advances scenographic theory into technological performance contexts, raises critical questions about anthropomorphic design and voice ethics and integrates recent HRI empirical findings to ground its claims and direct future audience-based testing.
Mohammed Rafiq Hossain (Tue,) studied this question.