What 200 Strangers Dreamed — Aura Automata at Berlin Science Week

Aura Automata was our experiment in human-machine co-creation for Berlin Science Week 2025.

The setup involved generative AI and a robotic arm that interpreted objects created by visitors to our pop-up booth in a kinetic way. Visitors described the concept, texture or feeling they wanted to see, and the system then generated a 3D object based on their description in real time. Meanwhile, music and sounds were generated that changed in response to the object’s geometry. The robot then ‘danced’ to the synthesis of all these inputs, turning thought into motion and creating a truly immersive experience.

After three days and hundreds of interactions, we sat down with the data. The results were surprisingly human.

We expected sci-fi. We got nature.

44.8% of all inputs were nature-based. Fantasy and sci-fi came second at 25%. Objects and architecture only made up 15%.

The dream texture

The most requested qualities weren’t metallic or shiny — they were organic, blue, green, glowing, and dancing. “Brutalist” and “synthetic” were at the very bottom.

What people actually typed

The top keywords: Water, Light, Landscape, Organic, Nature. Further down the list: Dragon, Mushroom, Dance.

The conceptual web

Even when people typed “machines” or “buildings”, they connected them to “forests” or “symbiosis.” When given the tools to build anything, we instinctively try to build a way back to nature.

From digital to physical

We aggregated every memory, word, and wish into a final Collective Object. Part brutalist structure, part organic overgrowth — a physical artefact created by a few hundred strangers dreaming together.

The atmosphere

Data is human. Thanks for dreaming with us.

Aura Automata was built by Pixolid and exhibited at Berlin Science Week 2025 (1–10 Nov).