la machine is a new take on the Useless Machine: flip its switch and an arm emerges from the box to switch itself off again.
But it does not turn itself off the same way every time. The arm may emerge immediately, hesitate, move slowly, or combine its movements with different sounds. Sometimes it resists interaction; at other times, when left alone, it may extend its arm to seek attention.
Thousands of behaviors are available, and the machine is designed to develop a different “personality” over time as it is used.
A machine whose job is to be useless now has moods and personality-like behavior. Only the uselessness keeps getting more capable.
HAHA (Hypertrophic Ambidextrous Hand and Arm) is a performance work that adds an extra robotic arm to the human body with hyperextension, ambidextrous motion and continuous rotation. Developed by Stelarc with Sorbonne University's ISIR, it turns the simple idea of “one more arm” into a full body-machine choreography.
The performer is physically connected to the system through a magnetic lock and controls the installation using an exoskeleton plus ECG and EMG sensors. The robot's motion also drives live video switching and sound generation.
The bonus arm isn't merely extra; it gets movement abilities the original human arms never had. The upgrade has overtaken the base model.
A machine whose job is to be useless now has moods and personality-like behavior. Only the uselessness keeps getting more capable.