Table of Contents

Trust Machine

Megan

This machine works to overcome the traditional fear and lack of trust that humans have with machines (as seen in Metropolis, Ex Machina, and Blade Runner). In order to use the machine, users must instill faith in the machine, and trust that it will not hurt them. Once humans do this by sitting upon the machine's seat, they will be rewarded by the machine's comforting response.

A Blank Surface

Raghav Ke.

The machine looks to provide a surface for this collective exchange of expression and human ideas. It uses ferrofluid as a blank canvas that people can interact with and thus, express themselves with. By adjusting the patterns formed in the fluid, each user adds on to the complexity if the ferrofluid surface, and the end result is a complex and uneven surface created by the collaboration of many different people from many different walks of life.

Ear-ly-Bot

Raghav Ku.

The Ear-ly-bot helps you relive the moments our ancestors would have been through in the pre-historic ages 40,000 years ago. Early men had a prominent contribution in the trends of art that we follow today. They began the journey by cave paintings. The primary reasons for these paintings, on research and different theories, have boiled down to: art for art’s sake, religious/spiritual or keeping records of unusual visuals. However, one common aspect that fits in most appropriately was the identity of the people who made the drawings. The machine’s identity in its early age, is itself. It keeps its identity established and constant by expressing its own self, visually. This machine gives us an essence as to where we might have begun and where have we come, also thinking about where can we go…

99/1

Janar

Kinematic installation, 99/1, is the artist’s reflection on her experience with rhythmic gymnastics. When audience comes to view a gymnastic performance, they witness only 1% of the entire story. The unseen 99% encompasses perspiration and emotional dedication in perfecting movements and in combining all the components into one piece. In the showcased installation, the leaves are open only for the 1% of the time, allowing the audience to see the plant inside. The 99% of the rest time they are closed, giving the plant a time to grow and representing an athlete being behind the scenes and training. The seeds planted inside of the flowerpot would flourish when exhibition finishes, as does the gymnast when performing the final piece.

Im/Permanent

Daniel

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IM/PERMANENT is an installation investigating concomitant fragility and indestructability of technology. The machine draws a parallel between Inca’s long lost technology of Khipu – writing in knots on strings – and the technology of barcodes – labeling and identification system underlying the modern consumers’ society. The project developed from an investigation into human memory function and auxiliary memory devices. The mechanical aspect of IM/PERMANENT records the viewer’s story and prints and Aztec code on their hand. Once the code is scanned with the specially designed web app, the recorded story is played back.

Lazy Machine

Shunja

If the machine is sleeping, please wake him up! This machine is supposed to clean my cup but he is lazy to do so. Because you know, the machines are made to work for humans right?? All the other machines, like washing machines and drying machines in the laundry room work fine without getting rest (and they should work well. malfunctioning is out of question!) They don't need to be appreciated; they are emotionless. they don't feel anything. at least for now. Gotta take advantage of everything we can from the machines!

Henna Drawing Machine

Jennifer

The machine draws henna for people on the back of their hands. The user wouldn't know what the design looks like before getting the henna. The machine has a pre-prepared library with some henna designs. Every user has an option of contributing to the library a henna design made with the application. The next person who uses the machine will get the henna design from the previous user. If the user chooses not to design a henna pattern, the machine would just randomly pick one henna design from the library. The designs in the pre-prepared library are simple, gender-neutral and geometric. Users are welcome to contribute to the library with other styles of henna design. The machine also explores the trust between human and machine. A user needs to put trust into the machine and other users to use the machine.

Synesthesia Machine

Anastassiya

Have you ever seen the music, tasted the colors or smell the shapes? If yes, then you probably are familiar with the phenomenon of synesthesia. If not, then you will be able to experience it first-hand with the Synesthesia Machine. Synesthesia is a rare neurological condition, and it means an anomalous blending of senses, allowing synesthetes see color splashes in front of their eyes when hearing different notes. This machine is a representation of what people with this ability are facing in their everyday life and how amazing their experience is. Now, go, pull the rods on the Synesthesia Machine and see what colors is going to be your today!

Noisy Pendulum

Rick

Noisy Pendulum is a machine that portrays the relationship between motion and sound. By implementing the double pendulum's chaos theory, the machine will replicate the movement of an ordinary double pendulum while producing a certain set of sounds according to the X and Y position of the lower pendulum arm. The machine is intended to demonstrate that motion and sound has always been a strong correlation to one another despite the ongoing trends to separate them as individual entities. By combining the random motion of the double pendulum and the sound, it will be an enjoyable moment for the viewers to see that motion and sound come together as one.

Cognitron

Halil

Pioneering research makes artificial intelligence all the more a possibility than mere imagination. Giving an artificial creation the consciousness of a human being could be useful in many areas, while posing a significant threat to the human existence. Regardless, achieving this mechanism would be interesting to observe. Cognitron is an artistic installation to point out the beauty of such a complex process. Energized by human energy, Cognitron is a machine that thinks and communicates what it is thinking with images. Complex yet meaningful, the chaotic swings of Cognitron's arms draw what is going on its mind, which is visible once the audience takes the long exposure image of its motion.

Trepido

Miha

Trepido is a machine that fears. By expressing fear in response to sudden, unpredictable movements towards it, Trepido disrupts the dominant narrative of technological development that frames the future relationship between men and machines as laden with fear, uncertainty, and struggle for control. If a machine can feel fear and fears humans, is it still valid to be naively afraid of machines? By putting the user in the role of the aggressor and exposing her to a reflection of her own fears, the project at hand calls for a reexamination of preconceived notions about the future of machines and the impact thereof on humankind.

The Smelly Smoke Machine

Hamza

What you sow so shall you reap is a multi-dimensional project that aims to inculcate how the world reacts to good and bad and the never-endng debate about the importance of machines in our daily lives. How essential our machines in assisting us with our day-to-day tasks and whether the use of machine where man can do it himslef is jusified. The notion that the whole world laughs with you yet you cry alone is also displayed through the use of the numerous mechanical and automated processes.