3 robotic vacuum cleaners (Roomba), Tor router, Wi-Fi jammer, signal booster, orchid, paper cup, crystal
Commissioned by MU, Eindhoven & Haus der elektronischen Künste Basel
Courtesy: Addie Wagenknecht & bitforms gallery, New York

Wagenknecht modified three Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners to function as a Wi-Fi hotspot, Tor Browser or signal jammer. Thanks to an algorithm that initiates the Roombas’ cleaning function, an interaction arises from the original practical functionality that is dynamic but simultaneously disruptive: depending on the Roombas’ distance from one another and also from mobile phones, laptops, or other wireless routers, the technology of these devices is influenced and their signals are amplified or suppressed. Internet of Things comments on the unpredictability of objects’ interactions in the net. In their random dance, the robots release themselves from their invisible mutual embrace and continue on their way, steered in other directions only in response to obstacles. The objects placed on the robots refer to the title, which is already a reality, and not only in our office spaces: the Internet of Things acts independently and communicates internally in our technological devices today.