Animaker

Animaker is an interactive art installation that breaks the barrier between the virtual and physical world. The installation playfully introduces visitors of all ages to technologies such as artificial intelligence and 3D-scanning.

A large immersive projection shows an ancient jungle temple. In front of it, you are asked to build an animal out of colourful Duplo building blocks. You can then place your creation on a 3D scanning station, where a custom AI engine tries to guess which animal you built. Once you customised your creature’s color, style and animation, it appears in the projected environment, next to other visitor’s animals.

Animaker is a unique international collaboration between artists, technologists and educators. The artificial intelligence engine responsible for identifying the animals is provided by Resonai, a company based in Tel Aviv and Palo Alto. The animal designs were created by Mexican artist Rimiyoho using Tagtool. 

The original concept was developed in partnership with The Tech Interactive, a science and technology center in San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley. The first iteration of the installation opened there in May 2018, with three scan stations and a 12 meter (40 feet) wide interactive projection. A second permanent installation with a single scan station and an updated furniture design by Walking Chair Studio was opened at Ars Electronica Center in Linz, Austria in June 2019.