Roboexotica

Roboexotica
Status active
Genre festival, exhibition
Frequency annually
Location(s) Vienna
Country Austria
Inaugurated founded 1999 (1999)
Most recent 2015
Attendance 1500-3000
Organized by monochrom, Shifz
Website
roboexotica.com

Roboexotica (sometimes spelled: Roböxotica) is an annual festival and conference where scientists, researchers, computer experts and artists from all over the world build cocktail robots and discuss technological innovation, futurology and science fiction. Roboexotica is also an ironic attempt to criticize techno-triumphalism and to dissect technological hypes.

The festival is co-produced by Shifz and monochrom, two Vienna-based art collectives, and supported by the 'Bureau for Philosophy' (of the Department of Philosophy, University of Vienna). The festival is usually held in the end of November or early December.

Overview

The annual international festival consists of an exhibition, a conference, social events, and the ACRA (Annual Cocktail Robot Award).

The exhibition presents robots that can mix cocktails, serve cocktails, consume cocktails, have bar conversations, light or smoke cigarettes or manage to impress the jury with (Quote Roboexotica website) "other achievements in the sector of cocktail culture".

Cocktail robot at Roboexotica 2007 in Vienna, Austria

History

In 1999, Magnus Wurzer and Chris Veigl (of Shifz) started to present a self-made cocktail robot at the small independent Viennese culture and art space VEKKS.[1] In 2002 the group monochrom (Johannes Grenzfurthner, Günther Friesinger, Franz Ablinger) teamed up with them and the small event became a big international festival presented at Vienna's Museumsquartier and several other locations in the Vienna metro area. Roboexotica presents around 20 machines every year and draws around 3000 guests per event.

Roboexotica was presented at Cyberpipe (Ljubljana) in 2006, at Maker Faire (San Francisco) and RoboGames (San Francisco) in 2007.

In 2008 a catalogue titled Roboexotica was published, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the festival. The book features reflections on the festival and presents statements by former participants including Cory Doctorow, Dorkbot's Doueglas Repetto, Bre Pettis, V. Vale, Karen Marcelo of Survival Research Laboratories or RoboGames' David Calkins and Simone Davalos.

A smaller show called "Roboexotica USA" was held in San Francisco in 2008 and 2009. It was organized by monochrom and Shifz and was well received by the press. In 2010 it was decided to rename the San Francisco-based cocktail robot event "Barbot," and Barbot events were held in San Franicsco in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Reception

Roboexotica has been featured on Slashdot,[2] Wired News,[3] Reuters,[4] New York Times[5] and blogs like Boing Boing[6] and New Scientist.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "V.E.K.K.S". Vekks.yi.org. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  2. ↑ "Roboexotica Event Pours Drinks in Vienna - Slashdot". Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Photo story about Roboexotica on wired.com
  4. ↑ "Cocktail robots serve up drinks". Retrieved 11 June 2016 – via www.reuters.com.
  5. ↑ "Just Like Mombot Used to Make". The New York Times. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  6. ↑ says, Bonnie (21 November 2007). "Speaking in Vienna this weekend at Roboexotica: the cocktail robotics festival". Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "New Scientist Technology Blog: Cocktail robotics - not just for partying". Retrieved 11 June 2016.
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