I had long wanted a little robot helper/sidekick for my performances. Early in the 21st century, the first commercially available hobbyist humanoid robots reached market. After some consideration I finally bought in summer 2008 a Robonova, one of the most popular and affordable models.

 

 

I modified it, getting rid of its aggressive Transformer looks in favour of a hand-made aluminium owly style. I added several sensors (compass, 2 axis accelerometre, ultra-sound distance sensor), a bluetooth module and light li-po batteries in the feet.

 

 

Mofo was shown in public for the first time in September 2008 for the Ars Electronica Festival. After a wobbly start, it managed to deliver a good performance, dancing the disco with me. Since then Mofo has shown its moves in Tokyo, Sydney, Newtown Powys, Zürich, Vienna, Rotterdam, London…

 

I have made a low-tech synthesizer keyboard for Mofo. The robot plays the melody of a song called The Future. Mofo also appeared in the B.O.R.N musical extravaganza as a dance master.