Cyborg Control

Our workshop, which is a former shop space in eastern Berlin, has a large window facing the street. We're used to people peeking in, but during the coronavirus pandemic the window became even more important as a way to maintain a dialogue with the neighbourhood. During spring 2021, Niklas and I built an interactive installation in the window, which was called Cyborg Control. The cyborg could be controlled via a smartphone, making it walk around, press buttons and trigger sensors. Over several weeks, we built a world around the cyborg, so that there was always something new for the passers by to explore. The project was funded by Berlin's Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa.

Cyborg Control was constructed largely using materials that we had at home. The cyborg itself was a modified Robosapien, which we had received as a donation from our neighbour. We added some uncanniness to the toy robot by replacing its head with a doll head, including a glowing red LED in one eye. For hacking the well-built Robosapien we found helpful tutorials, such as instructions on how to control it via an Arduino. The hack boils down to simulating the infrared signal of the toy's original remote control. We're thankful for people who have been posting the commands online (see e.g. Mark Craig's website). As a controller we used NodeMCU V1.0 (ESP12-E Module), which is connected with the IR input of Robosapien's main board.

The cyborg's world, which eventually filled the entire window, addressed ongoing pandemic themes in quirky way in hope of alleviating the stressful time. For example, if the cyborg was in need of a hairdresser (which many of us were at the time), he could visit Salon 3000 and trigger a hair dryer. At Späti 51, a Berlin-style convenience store, an alien equipped with a proximity sensor would greet him. It was also possible to go dance in Borghain, while the actual Berghain nightclub remained closed – preferably after visiting a Test Center first. Even World Domination button was available. Over couple of months many curious people came by to explore the cyborg window, which was fun to follow and also led to nice conversations with the visitors.

See also:

• Photo album of Cyborg Control
• Documentation on Niklas' website