Projects

AI Ink

AI Composition with Humans and Noise

Noise is an important element in the creativity of artificial intelligence. To understand the relationship between noise and the “soul” in a machine, we used temperature and human interaction as noise in the AI Ink project while composing music with artificial intelligence. After all, temperature is also associated to emotions in the human body.
Bio Ink

Can Ink Be Alive?

In Bio Ink, the Futurelab brought together biotechnology and digital pen tablet technology to create living ink that grows freely beyond human input. With this research, the team explored co-creation with other organisms and nature.
Artistic Journalism 2021

Online Course on Social Dialogue

In 2021, Ars Electronica Futurelab’s Artistic Director Hideaki Ogawa taught an online course at Keio University SFC (Shonan Fujisawa Campus) on “Artistic Journalism”: the act of creating a social dialogue through artistic expression, research, exploration, and action.
Oribotic Instruments Workshop

Experimental Robotic Origami Music

What does it take to create self-aware robotic instruments out of a piece of paper? An Ars Electronica Futurelab workshop was only the start of a new type of avant-garde robotic origami music performances.
Hybrid Space

Interactive Telepresence Museum Experience

Hybrid Space was an installation by the Ars Electronica Futurelab, presented as part of the lab’s 25-years anniversary in 2021. It provided an interactive space in the Ars Electronica Center where museum visitors could meet and interact with online visitors.
Hands for the Future

Participatory Installation on Social Issues

Hands for the Future is a participatory media installation at the Ars Electronica Center that serves as a call to action for the various deep issues that humanity urgently needs to address.
The Experts of the Future

Future Narrative Workshop for Kids

For its 25th anniversary, a Futurelab team collected opinions from internationally renowned futurologists to collaboratively speculate about possible future narratives in the next 25 years. Their journey to the future even ventured outside of our hemisphere to undiscovered planets. What was special about the experts for the future? On average, they were seven years old.
ORI*BOTICS

The Art and Science of Robotic Origami

ORI*BOTICS, the art and science of robotic origami, is a follow-on research project that continues the investigation of origami, technology and nature. It extends on our novel methods for designing and making strong, flexible and highly irregular origami from textiles and 3D printing, namely Fold Printing and Fold Mapping.
Sounding Letters

When AI Turns Letters Into Music

Ars Electronica Futurelab and Ars Electronica Center celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2021. As part of the celebrations, Sounding Letters was created: it utilizes the initial letters of the two institutions as a musical theme, which was used to compose a piece of music with the help of the AI system Ricercar.
Memo Futurum

Sharing Future Visions Across Time

Memo Futurum is an invitation to engage with our personal and collective visions of the future. The public was able to participate via website and submit a voice message until the end of 2021. The contributions were then transferred to vinyl records, which will only be opened again in 25 years, when the cycle begins…
OutReach

Physical Interaction for Telepresence Robots

OutReach is a solution that plays to the strengths of telepresence robots. By adding remotely controlled actuators to light switches, elevator buttons, or any other controls in a given environment, OutReach provides a way of interaction with the remote surroundings.
Ars Electronica Tokyo Initiative

Co-Creating Innovation and Future Society

Since 2014, Hakuhodo and Ars Electronica have collaborated in the joint project Future Catalysts. To further expand these activities, the two institutions launched a mission driven innovation community named “ARS ELECTRONICA TOKYO Initiative (AETI).”