phiaq – LookingOutwards06

Ad Infinitum – Machine Parasite that harvests human energy

At the Human Computer Interaction Lab at Hasso Plattner Institute, artists have created a parasitical machine that grabs and traps the human’s arm and feeds off of the energy in the wrist muscles. It will only let go when another user comes, so the whole process of feeding goes in a circular cycle. The robot contains a medical EMS device, arduino MEGA, and an openEMSstim control. Instead of it being an actual animal parasite, it is a mechanical one. I like the idea of it trapping humans and not letting go – it makes me think that someone could potentially suffer from this machine that they put on to themselves.