Video of last year's ROBOEXOTICA opening

A few video-shots with my photo cam from last year's opening of ROBOEX07ICA Festival in Museumsquartier.

Talking towards the end of the clip: US Cultural Attache Katherine Perez.

roboeXotica 2008, opening Dec 4th: see post below.

SERVO Article Published

The SERVO article on ROBOEX07ICA mentioned earlier is available online now - Link.

Article in June 2008 Servo Magazine by Simone Davalos - Preview

Simone Davalos who built one of the award winning cocktail-robots at Roboex07ica, wrote an article for Servo magazine to appear June 2008, of which I present you an exclusive preview:
"[...] Participants from around the world brought their machines to vie for the top awards, which go to the robots that best fulfill the stringent and exacting standards of the judging categories: Serving, Mixing, Conversation, Fire and Smoke, and Special Achievements. Other sub categories this year included Persistence, Environmental, Most Welcome Off-Topic entry, and Best Swiss Entry, about which more later on.
The Freiraum machine gallery space at the Museumsquartier in Vienna was crowded with old favorites and some promising up-and-comers. David Calkins, founder of RoboGames, showed up for his third RoboExotica with Chapek, the snarky arm-swinging bartender bot with glowing red eyes. Chapek razzed the crowd and made vodka or gin martinis as well as inappropriate comments to young women. Chapek ended up taking home the Cocktail Robot Award for the Conversation category at the Annual Cocktail Robot Awards, which took place the last night of the festival.
Robert Martin brought back RoboMoji, a popular machine and four year veteran of the contest. RoboMoji makes mojitos with a chain-drive conveyor belt, mechanically actuated lime squeezer and mint muddler, and automatic shot pourers. The drinks are tasty, but take a bit of patience while the machine does its thing. Robomoji's parts are handmade out of aluminum for an industrial effect with a sugar-coated ending. Watching the process is fascinating when it's running flawlessly, and even more fascinating when the machine breaks down and the creators swarm over it to find the problem (rule one of robotics, especially cocktail robotics: robots break). For this reason, RoboMoji was awarded Honorable mention in the category of Patience.
Chris Veigl's Mind Reading martini maker, the winner of the Mixing category, collected EEG scans of the drinker's brain to determine how strong a drink the drinker is to receive. The more relaxed alpha waves the machine can detect, the stronger the drink. Since everyone there had been previously relaxed by other offerings, great amounts of gin and vodka flowed from the generous mindreader.
[...]
RoboExotica 2007 was not without its other mishaps. The winner of the Fire and Smoke category, El Espanol Borracho, offered up a stunning display when the flamethrower got stuck in the 'on' position and lit both its creator and the floor on fire. Luckily there were no injuries, as bystanders were laughing too hard to douse the flames effectually.
When it was repaired, ESB made excellent Spanish Coffees. With a press of ESB's Big Red Button, Kahlua and sweetened coffee mixture were poured into a rocks glass, and a small shot of the Austrian liqueur Stroh 80 was floated over top. Many would-be drinkers were warned away from grabbing their drink prematurely, as the final touch is a three second burst of butane/propane flame to add “flavor”. [...]"

And apropos - the publishers of Servo were among the judges for the bartending bots at Robogames 2006 ... and apparently fancied Chris Veigl's Cockbot One.

Simone - thanks for this entertaining and informative write-up!

ROBOEX07ICA Post Scriptum

Three weeks after the festival's over, I am slowly recovering from my annual peak alcohol-consumption (and reckless sleep-deprivation) - simultaneously fighting off the consequences of a snowy winter settling on Vienna (*coughcough*) - and I am starting to try to complete the coverage of this year's cocktail robotics festival #1 ...

- Conference audio: The symposium has been audio-recorded and put online. Link (german AND english)
- eSeL, our official photographer this year, has created the flickr-group roboexotica.
- There has been some (printed) press coverage locally - DerStandard, Wiener Zeitung, Kurier, ... - but so far there seems to be less international stir created than last year.

Upcoming: next year ROBOEXOTICA will be celebrating 10th anniversary, look out for special events right here!
So far the next scheduled big cocktail robot event will be at RoboGames 2008 - and we are trying to raise money to hopefully be able to send Robomoji to win a medal this time.

[ROBOEXOTICA's 2nd Office in Second Life is always open for a visit, of course!]

A Closer Look at the ACRA-Winners

Wired blog has a closer look at some of the ACRA 9.0 winners: Chris Palmer's Brethalyzer Genii, Franz Ablinger's Gesundheit, Robert Martin's Robomoji, Roman Maeder's Holy Golden Milk+Wodcow and Misha á Crest's Explanator.
Oh btw Mr. Dempsey, the Explanator not only is an alcohol-producing musical instrument - it is also an alcoholic vapor dispenser, enabling you to consume Absynth by inhaling plus it is an absynth-filled "water"-pipe!

(Photo above, from Poetina's ROBOEXOTICA-set: Gingerbread replicas of ROBOEXOTICA-logo "Guzman")

ROBOEX07ICA Pictures

eSeL has taken a lot of pictures: Opening - Exhibition ... and has even started uploading them on flickr.

More photos taken by: Chris Thomas Palmer, Simone Davalos, Bre Pettis, Cory Doctorow.

My own camera got "lost" during ROBOEX07ICA, so my flickr-set is smaller than anticipated (and covers more of the build-up than the festival).

ACRA 9.0 Winners

While the cool kids are partying on at Bre Pettis' residence, the only thing keeping me from sleep is the urge to let the world know the winners of the Annual Cocktail Robot Awards 9.0 ...
In a late and dynamic gala there were prizes given away in more categories than ever.
At this point a word or two on the judgment system seems appropriate: The "secret judges" never knew they were judging when they were interviewed and the results of this method had interesting implications. Entries won categories that didn't previously exist.
So there were ten main winners this year who went away with precious gingerbread trophies crafted by poetina - replicas of ROBOEXOTICA's logo Guzman.
5 honorary mentions were formulated.
And there were 5 winners of a new kind of trophy awarded for meager achievments: Limes!

So here it is, the list of outstanding cockail-robotic manifestations shown at ROBOEX07ICA, with short notes on the judges' motivation:

SERVING
Explanator / Misha a Crest - Breathing might be THE future way to ingest herbal/alcoholic beverages
MIXING
MindReading MartiniMaker / Chris Veigl - way of determining ratio & innovative way around shaking/stirring
CONVERSATION
Chapok / David Calkins - the way he inspires drinking is quite authentic
FIRE & SMOKE
El Espanol Borracho / Simone Davalos - a) for not triggering the fire alarm b) only robot that includes flambéing in the preparation process
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Blow Your Fortune / Chris Thomas Palmer - always knows what u should drink
PERSISTENCE
Gesundheit VI / Franz Ablinger - is hardheadedly trying to find a lasting configuration.
MOST WELCOME OFF-TOPIC ENTRY
Aktionsgruppe LN2.0 / FH Joanneum - good example of why and when humans are still needed in the cocktail environment
BEST SWISS ENTRY
The Holy Golden Milk+Wodcow / Roman Maeder - the milking proved to be a favorite human pastime
ENVIRONMENTAL
Perpetual Popper / Jaques Gallant - feeds people using only corn and sun

HONORARY MENTIONS
PATIENCE: Robomoji / Robert Martin - patiently adds assembling steps year by year (VIDEO)
VISIONARY: Robofriend 2 / Tom Heike first robot that combines mixing and mobile delivery
MOST CUTE AND SIMPLE UI: Rabbit's Revenge / FH Joanneum
MOST ACCURATE DEPICTION OF A ROBOT PENIS: Urinator / FH Joanneum
MOST VERSATILE: Explanator / Misha a Crest

LIMES
The Prisoner's Dilemma / David Fine - installation is a construction site
R.R. Shot-Bot / Bre Pettis- unfinished
Kalkohol / Johannes Grenzfurthner - causing floods is not an achievement
BF Ice Cube Gun / FH Joanneum - Vodka theft and militaristic behaviour
Urinator / FH Joanneum - ghastly impression makes drink undesirable
Bic-o-Mat/ Adrianb Dabrowski - no-show despite anticipated added features

(All other bots were in between so-lala and great and should return next year to try again.)

ROBOEX07ICA Opening

The ninth ROBOEXOTICA opened it's doors yesterday in Vienna's Museumsquartier. Artists and roboticists are showing their creations at the annual Festival for Cocktailrobotics, competing for the Annual Cocktail Robot Awards.

Pictured above is the American Cultural Attache Katherine Perez, admiring the achievements of her fellow citizen David Calkins - by now a ROBOEXOTICA regular - who is holding the world's largest (Guinness approved) robotics competition at home in San Francisco.

ROBOEX07ICA Bloggage

In exactly 19 hours ROBOEXOTICA 2007 will be officially opening, already there is some serious bloggage going on:
SuicideBots
BoingBoing
Gridskipper
Make:blog

ROBOEX07ICA: Nov 22-25, Vienna - Link to Schedule

Robots Abroad

It's the time of the year when robots from all over are traveling abroad to meet up with relatives and celebrate the Annual Cocktail Robot Awards, which are part of the world's first Festival for Cocktailrobotics - ROBOEXOTICA.

The ninth installment is about to start this thursday evening in Vienna - here are some first pics from the build-up at Museumsquartier.

Apropos

BTW, in case you haven't studied the updated schedule thouroughly enough - Comic-Superhero Cory Doctorow is visiting ROBOEXOTICA again.

(Part 5 of "1337" by xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.)

Updated ROBOEX07ICA Program Schedule

Thursday 11/22, 2007
Museumsquartier Wien, Freiraum
7 P.M.: Roboexotica 2007 and AiR Space opening.
Live - GameJew, Mr. Electric
On the turntables - DJ Borka, VJ Ozo

Friday 11/23, 2007
Museumsquartier Wien, Freiraum
10 A.M. - 10 P.M.: Exhibition
5 P.M.: DJ Ossi & Kilian
Museumsquartier Wien, Erste Bank Arena
1 P.M. - 5 P.M.: Symposium (in german language)
Thomas Ballhausen: Geister sehen. - Zur Veränderung der visuellen Kultur und ihrer (Seh)Räume um 1895.
Kerstin Ohler: Generating Ghosts 2.0 - Der phantastische (Erzähl)Raum und seine Bewohner als VR-Mechanismus.
Alexander Edelhofer: "Radio, live transmission."
Psychogeographische Industrielandschaften und Subkultur: Joy Divison, Manchester.
brut Konzerthaus, Lothringerstraße 20, 1030 Wien
8 P.M.: Recording of taugshow #15.

Saturday 11/24, 2007
Museumsquartier Wien, Freiraum
10 A.M. - 10 P.M.: Exhibition
5 P.M.: DJ Funke powered by sonance, DJ phonuel
Museumsquartier Wien, Erste Bank Arena
1 P.M. - 6 P.M.: Symposium
Sean Bonner: The inmates have taken over the asylum... but that's OK because as it turns out they are far more entertaining than all those stuffy doctors.
Jens Ohlig: Monkeys, typewriters, and the Markov chain reaction. Programming machines to write literature so humans don't have to.
Cory Doctorow: A Singular Metaphor - Why consciousness uploading, post-human existence, and life after the Singularity are popular today, and why science fiction is always about the present.
David Fine: The Consciousness Conundrum.
Bre Pettis: Machines: If you can't beat them, join them - The Apocalyptic Utopia.
brut Künstlerhaus, Karlsplatz 5, 1010 Wien
20 Uhr: Gold Extra - Black Box - Theater for eight remote controlled robots (in german language)
brut Konzerthaus, Lothringerstraße 20, 1030 Wien
22 Uhr: Paul Granjon - Reflections and Constructions of a Button Pusher

Sunday 11/25, 2007
Museumsquartier Wien, Freiraum
10 A.M. - 8 P.M.: Exhibition
2 P.M.: Grjasnaya Gallereya - The Inevitable Time Travel (Performance)
3 P.M.: Rainer Tramin
Wir sind wie Roboter? (Lecture in german language)
Museumsquartier Wien, QDK Veranstaltungsraum
11 A.M.: Filmbrunch
brut Künstlerhaus, Karlsplatz 5, 1010 Wien
6 P.M.: Gold Extra
Black Box - Theater for eight remote controlled robots (in german language)
brut Konzerthaus, Lothringerstraße 20, 1030 Wien
8 P.M.: Paul Granjon - Reflections and Constructions of a Button Pusher
Volkstheater Wien, Rote Bar, Neustiftgasse 1, 1070 Wien
10 P.M.: ACRA V9.0 - Gala of the Annual Cocktail Robotics Awards 2007

Since I posted the outlines of ROBOEX07ICA's schedule there have been some corrections and more details have emerged ...
Note the changes of the whens and wheres of Paul Granjon's Reflections and Constructions of a Button Pusher - both performances are at brut Konzerthaus and one has moved from Friday to Saturday!

The symposium's abstract has been posted on roboexotica.org:
Ghost In The Machine

AiR at ROBOEX07ICA

quartier 21's Aritist in Residence program hosts two of this year's participants - monochrom (who rent an office in q21 and are eligible to name a portion of the AiRs) have invited Make: Magazine's Bre Pettis and David Fine, who has had his hands in one of last year's ACRA-winners - the External Combustion Engine.

"What makes the Artist-in-Residence program of quartier21 so unusual is that in keeping with its broad understanding of art and culture it is not limited to fine art, but is also open to artists who often have no other access to studio programs, including media and sound artists, fashion designers, art theorists and critics, DJs, game designers, photographers, and filmmakers."

Coinciding with ROBOEXOTICA's opening on 22nd, the new AiRbase space will be inaugurated - it's the small room behind the bar inside Freiraum, which has been used by ROBOEXOTICA before.

ROBOEX07ICA Poster Out!

Those of you living in Vienna who
a) want to help us get the 1000pcs. hung
b) want to secure a poster (or 20) for their living room wall
can pick 'em up Tue-Fri 12-7pm and Sat 12-6pm!
... At Motmot Design's shop in Kirchengasse 36, A-1070 Vienna.

Motmot - those are the wonderful people who've printed our lovely ROBOEXOTICA-shirts for the last couple years, Anna designed the poster this year.

Outlines of ROBOEX07ICA Schedule [Updated]

The ninth installment of the world's only Festival for Cocktailrobotics is less than 2 months away!
ROBOEXOTICA 2007 will be held in Vienna, Austria Nov 22-25.
The Annual Cocktail Robot Awards 9.0 will be given away during the ACRA Gala on Sunday 25th at Volkstheater Wien's Rote Bar

THU Nov 22
Opening 7pm (Freiraum q21, MuseumsQuartier)

FRI Nov 23
Exhibition 10am-10pm (Freiraum q21, MQ)
Symposium 1pm-6pm (Ovalhalle ErsteBankArena, MQ) [Updated]
Taugshow 8pm (brut Konzerthaus)
Paul Granjon 10pm (brut Konzerthaus) [Updated]

SAT Nov 24
Exhibition 10am-10pm (Freiraum q21, MQ)
Symposium 1pm-6pm (Ovalhalle ErsteBankArena, MQ) [Updated]
Gold Extra 8pm (brut Künstlerhaus)
Paul Granjon 10pm (brut Konzerthaus) [Updated]

SUN Nov 25
Exhibition 10am-8pm (Freiraum q21, MQ)
Filmbrunch 11am
Grjasnaya Gallereya 2pm (Freiraum) [Updated]
Rainer Tramin 3pm (Freiraum)
Gold Extra 6pm (brut Künstlerhaus)
Paul Granjon 8pm (brut Künstlerhaus brut Konzerthaus) [Updated]
Annual Cocktail Robot Awards Gala 10pm (Rote Bar, Volkstheater)

Details will be added online as they emerge!

Update Nov 15: FINAL SCHEDULE

Chassis

Ladies and Gentlemen - this looks like a promising entry in the Serving Drinks category of this year's ACRA (Annual Cocktail Robot Awards) ...
Suicidebots blogger Headrotor alias Jon Foote who we met in San Francisco, where he laboured hard in the RoboGames crew - and where he had already expressed his intention to assemble a cocktail-robot for ROBOEX07ICA - has posted a first report on his and co-conspirator Al Honig's efforts.

"Chassis is a fully mobile remote beverage dispensing unit. Chassis will fill your glass from the spigot on his front, provided you flirt with or bribe him.
He ... is looking a little rough after decades without a touch-up; he has an appointment with a powder coater tomorrow. He’ll come back a nice shade of red."

10min Maker Faire Clip

Here are roughly ten minutes I recorded on photo cam at Maker Faire mid-may and found time to paste together finally ... music at the beginning is atmo from a walk outside - I believe the name of the band to be Cyclecide.

Update / hint: at min. 8:28 drunktender in the Microsoft Pavilion makes it's appearance.

Maker Faire was a Blast

I would think that many many of the expected 35000 visitors now know about cocktail-robotics ...
Maker Faire seems to be quite popular - the family running the grocery store at the corner from where chris+i are staying went - the son was there both days.
And i can understand that too - I could have spent both days checking out the awesome creations shown at the Faire ...

The video above shows Lance Greathouse confessing his desire to be part of ROBOEXOTICA 2007 - and we met a couple more people who might be coming to future ROBOEXOTICAs. In that respect Maker Faire was a great success - this was definitely a crowd (both makers and visitors) who seemed to appreciate the concept of cocktail-robotics!

And we met people we knew as revered guests at ROBOEXOTICA - Douglas Repetto, Karen Marcello, Jake Appelbaum, Jonathan Moore ... and of course David Fine, who was involved in the creation of ACRA-winning External Combustion Engine but didn't make it to Vienna last year and who will be at RoboGames in June with an improved version.

Karen invited Chris and me to talk about cocktail-robotics this Wednesday at the Dorkbot meeting, at "Porn Palace" on 415 Jessie, SF ...
we will be demonstrating Chris's latest invention - the MindReadingMartiniMaker.

RobotChallenge - Report

This saturday, ROBOEXOTICA-agents did a little talent-scouting at Vienna's RobotChallenge (after all Tom Heike was "discovered" at RobotChallenge 2005: and just see what he's up to).
... And found this 25 year old household robot which's care-taker accepted an invitation to ROBOEX07ICA -
in this hi-res pic you can see HERO-1's specs!
"Motorola 6808 ... 895kHz ... 4K RAM ...
... Speech Accessory: synthesized phonem based system"
(Like RoboMoji, HERO-1 was presented as part of the Freestyle Exhibition)

All in all it was quite encouraging to see how local youth is embracing robotics as something to create fun stuff with - I'm sure some of these kids will grow up to be fine cocktail-roboticists!

ROBOEX07ICA - Nov. 22nd-25th

It's somewhat official! This year's ROBOEXOTICA has been scheduled to open on November 22nd and last thru Sunday 25th 2007.

It's the festival's 9th installment which accordingly leads to the Annual Cocktail Robot Awards to be given away for the ninth time - robot builders worldwide are invited to participate with their contraptions artful and mind-boggling.

In the remaining time we are getting organized a wee bit: The individuals and organizations contributing to making ROBOEXOTICA possible are forming a new organizational structure to better tackle bureucratic challenges and in general further the cocktailrobotic cause.