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NESL
Medium
"What would happen if an automaton had a hobby? Or if it was dedicated exclusively to beautiful or poetic tasks? After asking these philosophical questions, Koltick decided to place the automatons, developed as part of his research project Phenomenal Machines, in a “synthetic ecology” where they could affect and be affected. “Robots are real and many of their actions are real. However, robots as actors are difficult,” jokes Koltick.Both they and the landscape have been manufactured with techniques such as 3D printing, they have a basic vision thanks to a small camera (they recognize colors but not shapes), and they are programmed to imitate biological processes and shapes. Super interesting approach and execution, without any dialogue. Pure futuristic poetry!"
​December 7, 2018

THE FOND (OR FEARSOME) ROBOTS THAT HAVE WON IN FUTURISTIC CINEMA 
El Diario
“‘ NESL ‘ , an American short film, has risen as the winner in the category Real Robots. Disregarding dialogues, the work shows the beautiful interaction between different non-human agents: machines and minerals. Two automata, equipped with a sort of eye and some tweezers, interact in the formation of crystals that is taking place in the white landscape that they inhabit.”

THE FESTIVAL OF ROBOTIC CINEMA ALREADY HAS WINNERS
ROS Film Festival

125 YEARS: DREXEL & THE CITY: MORE THAN A RETROSPECTIVE
Broad Street Review
“The most fascinating and advanced installation is a film loop depicting a “habitat for non-humanity,” from the Design Futures Lab. It features NESL – Nurturing Emergent Synthetic Life -- and demonstrates a dynamic environment that supports the growth of mineral-based crystals and is inhabited by robotic creatures. The film shows the interaction among changing terrain, robots, and crystals, which flourish in shapes and colors to equal any botanical garden. It is a mesmerizing and surreal take on the future.
February 20, 2017

DIRT-EATING CARPET, SELF-CLEANING COUNTERS, AND LIVING WALLS: THE HACKED BACTERIA HOUSE
Fast Company

BIO-SURFACES CONTAINING "HACKED" BACTERIA COULD
CLEAN YOUR FEET AS YOU WALK ON THEM

Dezeen

THIS FLOOR CAN DETECT BACTERIA, AND OTHER PRODUCT PROTOTYPES FIT FOR A SCI-FI FILM
Architizer

METROPOLOME
RESEARCHERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF RAPID AND CHEAP DNA SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGIES TO MAP THE BACTERIAL MICROBIOME OF NEW YORK CITY
The Scientist

INTERACTIVE FLOOR MATS AND "SMART BEDS": STUDENTS LOOK TO THE FUTURE OF DESIGN
thecreator’sproject.vice.com

A PEEK INSIDE DREXEL’S DESIGN FUTURES LAB
Geekadelphia

OCCUPY OBJECTS
suckerpunchdaily.com

DREXEL HOSTS GALLERY OF FUTURE PRODUCTS
Metro Philadelphia

AUDACIOUS IDEAS
Drexel Magazine

PROJECTS MERGE DESIGN, FUNCTION
The Triangle

BEDS THAT NUDGE YOU WHEN YOU’RE SNORING AND OTHER DREXEL DESIGN FUTURES LAB PROJECTS
Technically Philly

NEW DREXEL EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS POTENTIAL CONSUMER PRODUCTS OF THE FUTURE
CBS Philly

DESIGN FUTURES LAB WITH NICOLE KOLTICK
suckerpunchdaily.com

DESIGN FUTURES LAB EXHIBIT
Drexel University

BACTERIA-DETECTING COUNTERTOPS, INTERACTIVE SLEEP TERRAINS AND OTHER DREXEL STUDENTS' VISIONS OF THE FUTURE 
DrexelNOW