Join the pigeon on an illustrated journey into a world where artificial intelligence meets sustainability. Explore the dimensions and implications of artificial intelligence applications for environmental sustainability. Learn about the many key capabilities of AI, as well as the limitations and ethical considerations of this powerful technology. Be creatively inspired as an insider or newcomer to the AI and sustainability debate. Let's strive for AI that matters. In a good way. written by Dr. Julia Schneider, aka Docjsnyder illustrated by Pauline Cremer with Birds on Mars You are invited to download, read and share our comic essay "A Pigeon's Tale" for free (License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Downoad the pdf: https://www.pigeonstale.ai/s/A_Pigeons_Tale.pdf 〷◠‿◠〷 This project is part of our festival track "Energy of the Future" funded by the Science Year 2025.

Step into the AI Photobooth and become the star of your unique image. Gather up to three friends or family members and take individual photos. Choose from a variety of themes—or mix and match your favorites. Our AI will seamlessly blend your portraits into a brand-new scene, creating a unique and personalized image. Once your masterpiece is ready, print it out and take home a one-of-a-kind souvenir.

Anhad is an interactive AI simulation where cybernetic chimeras confront the limits of the human scale with the infinitude of song. On first approach, viewers encounter an AI controlled creature wandering a digital forest. The AI driven limbs of this tripedal being, carry recorded notes of Hindustani music, that emanate as it navigates around the virtual flora. Audio feedback from the external world interrupts the creature, changing its movements and consequentially modulating its music. This continuous interplay of sound between the physical and virtual worlds, allows Anhad to generate an infinitely modulating song. 〷◠‿◠〷 With kind support from the Anita Keijzer Foundation.

What if trees could vote? Which policies would they support? Would conditions in Munich be improved? Would Earth be a better environment for all life, including humankind? *** Homo sapiens is the most powerful species on Earth. Human political decisions impact all living beings. Many of the choices we’ve made over the past several centuries have been ruinous. Adding insult to injury, our species has taken power undemocratically. Humans are but a small minority in terms of biodiversity, and we’re far less than one percent of the planetary biomass. The Assembly of Trees is the first polling agency in Europe devoted exclusively to measuring and publicizing the political perspective of flora. In this space, you’ll observe changes in arboreal stress level, indicating trees’ level of satisfaction with the political status quo. On the basis of these biological indications, you will be asked to evaluate changes in the legal code from a botanical point of view. 〷◠‿◠〷 With kind support from the Anita Keijzer Foundation.

The project "Beyond the Machine" addresses how human-machine interaction can be designed to leverage the rapidly improving capabilities of generative AI for visualizing future scenarios. Instead of viewing AI as a threat to scientific, design, and artistic practices, the project creates a dynamic network to reflect and experiment: How can collaboration between humans and machines be achievable, responsible, and valuable? The project is funded by the Fraunhofer Network Science, Art, and Design. We aim to promote interdisciplinary discourse between applied research, art, and design. Joint research projects, idea competitions, residencies, conferences and exhibitions bring together participants from various fields of knowledge, allowing new perspectives on complex social challenges to emerge. Get in touch: wkd@fraunhofer.de PHOTO CREDITS: (c) KI generiert

Biotopy is a biotic game and interactive installation that speculates a more playful and collective mode of scientific discovery. Connecting bioreactors to game engines, it synthesizes scientific methods with gameplay mechanics. Players are citizen scientists, growing and interacting with microbial cultures to take care of a virtual creature on their computer. Biotopy is a playful interface meditating between the biotic and the digital, generating a novel space for both play and discovery. Biotopy provokes questions of how biotic agents will live with virtual universes, how scientific discoveries could be facilitated through collective play, and how we might practice a more expansive scientific self. 〷◠‿◠〷 With kind support from the Anita Keijzer Foundation.

The project "Climate-Adapted Architectural Heritage" addresses how architectural heritage worldwide can be adapted to climate change challenges. It combines research and design in a traveling exhibition, supplemented by a digital catalog and international panel discussions in Germany, Mexico, and the USA. It focuses on cross-country and cross-climate zone learning about climate-adapted living and building. The project is funded by the Fraunhofer Network Science, Art, and Design. We aim to promote interdisciplinary discourse between applied research, art, and design. Joint research projects, idea competitions, residencies, conferences and exhibitions bring together participants from various fields of knowledge, allowing new perspectives on complex social challenges to emerge. Get in touch: wkd@fraunhofer.de PHOTO CREDITS: (c) Juan Francisco Flores Alaya

A CycloRotor is a compact, electrically driven aviation propulsion unit capable of generating thrust 360° around its rotation axis. CycloRotors enable an easy transition from hover to forward flight profiles with gust control and precision landing, ideal for safe operations in crowded airspace, confined areas, and adverse weather conditions. Unlike traditional propulsion systems, which are limited to generating thrust in only one direction, CycloRotors can direct thrust in a full circle, giving aircraft designers a new tool to unlock novel concepts, applications, and markets.

Show your prompting skills! In this interactive game, a random prompt from GPT constructs an image that is created by an Image Generation AI. Your task is to come up with a prompt that reproduces an image close to the original. The more creative and accurate you are, the better your chances of winning. Another AI awards points to you based on the similarity between your image and the original picture. The player with the most points wins a place in the hall of fame! Will you be the champion of this AI-powered game?

Hydrogen offers a significant opportunity to connect climate protection, energy transition, and economic progress. One of hydrogen's greatest strengths is its ability to store excess energy and later convert it into electricity almost emission-free. However, hydrogen becomes truly effective only with renewable energy, efficient conversion and transport technologies, and suitable infrastructure. Solve challenges in the game and advance your hydrogen molecule on its journey, encountering exciting facts and innovations. PHOTO CREDITS: (c) Zozulinskyi (c) Kristian Ozer Kettner

Together with communities, the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) designs and deploys solar power and other renewable energy installations as beautiful places for people and economic development drivers. The Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) and the German Federal Horticulture Show (BUGA 23) invited creatives from around the world to design a unique work of art that uses renewable energy technology to support sustainable human thriving, supplying clean megawatt-hours to the City of Mannheim. Designers considered solutions at both residential scale and civic scale. LAGI 2022 Mannheim Exhibition: LAGI 2022 submissions were featured in an exhibition—Beautiful Forms of Energy—at BUGA 23 from April 2023 to October 2023. \O/ BOOK TABLE: You can purchase "Land Art as Climate Action. Designing the 21st Century City Park Land Art Generator Initiative" at our Festival Kiosk. \O/ 〷◠‿◠〷 This project is part of our festival track "Energy of the Future" funded by the Science Year 2025.

The two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, are the target of the Japanese exploration mission Martian Moons eXploration, or MMX for short. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and the French space agency CNES (Centre national d'études spatiales) are contributing the rover IDEFIX that will spend several weeks exploring the surface of Phobos. The expected findings should help us to better understand the formation of the martian moons and the planets in the Solar System. The ambitious project is expected to be launched from the Japanese spaceport Tanegashima in 2026.

The Smallest Hole in the World Image of a single-atom hole in a crystal, magnified 100 million times. Guinness World Record, 1993. Coronen Dancing Molecular composition (C₂₄H₁₂) on a crystal surface, visualized via scanning tunneling microscopy – an example of molecular self-assembly. Phantom of the Opera AI-generated artwork based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music. A neural network transforms sound into visual form. Hallelujah Inspired by Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” AI-based synesthesia translates music into visual art. 〷◠‿◠〷 With kind support from the Anita Keijzer Foundation.

Light pollution and the high energy demands of public streetlights are damaging ecosystems, contributing to climate change, and affecting human health. PAPILIO addresses these issues with an innovative design that combines an insect-friendly light spectrum with a built-in wind rotor to generate renewable energy, reducing both light pollution and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. The streetlight uses a Savonius rotor, which captures both vertical and horizontal airflows, ensuring reliable energy generation regardless of wind direction. This energy is stored in a rechargeable battery, allowing PAPILIO to operate autonomously without costly underground power connections. Alternatively, it can feed surplus energy into the grid during strong winds. PAPILIO minimizes light pollution with a light-shielding “full-cut-off” design that directs light downward, an infrared sensor that activates the light only when needed, and a warm 2700 Kelvin spectrum that is less harmful to insects. This design not only reduces ecological impact but also enhances urban environments with its aesthetic appeal. The climate-neutral energy production becomes an aesthetic play, enriching the public space – both during the day and at night. 〷◠‿◠〷 This project is part of our festival track "Energy of the Future" funded by the Science Year 2025.

The research project "Prompting Visions" aims to investigate how AI image generators can be used in the field of science communication to promote a social exchange on research topics. The approach is that both inexperienced individuals and experienced professionals can utilize image-generating AIs to convey their attitudes toward research topics, and artists and designers can leverage their skills to optimize the use of AI image generators. Hand in hand, visions emerge from research topics. For Fraunhofer UMSICHT, "participation" in the sense of research with social responsibility means that science communication, in particular, must be participatory and multidirectional. The active involvement of different target groups and the promotion of an open dialog are always at the heart of this. "Participatory science communication" is itself regarded as part of research. The project is funded by the Fraunhofer Network Science, Art, and Design. We aim to promote interdisciplinary discourse between applied research, art, and design. Joint research projects, idea competitions, residencies, conferences and exhibitions bring together participants from various fields of knowledge, allowing new perspectives on complex social challenges to emerge. Get in touch: wkd@fraunhofer.de PHOTO CREDITS: (c) (Fraunhofer Umsicht): KI-generierte Bilder

In a cutting-edge telepresence setup, operators remotely control a sophisticated mobile robot. This powerful technology drives innovation in fields like industrial service robotics, domestic solutions, and healthcare. Our telepresence challenge invites users to test their skills and experience robotics research in action. The ROSI demonstrator is an early-stage platform for exploring and advancing human-robot interaction concepts.

Schema is an interactive digital artwork featuring a forest creature whose behavior and emotions are collectively controlled by Twitch chat participants in real-time. Viewers manipulate the creature's arousal levels and focus orientation through chat commands, triggering complex emotional states ranging from curiosity and contentment to anxiety and aggression that directly influence the creature's AI-driven behaviors as it explores, seeks refuge, or confronts elements in its digital forest environment. The creature collects glowing "pearls" during the day and transforms them into algorithmic melodies at night, creating a dynamic feedback loop between audience interaction and automated artistic creation. Schema explores how collective digital participation can generate emergent, unpredictable behaviors and narratives, examining the complex effects that arise when many voices collaborate to shape a single evolving story within a virtual ecosystem. 〷◠‿◠〷 With kind support from the Anita Keijzer Foundation.

"Sentient Flow" shows a serene figure in quiet exchange with a liquid, dragon-like being rising from the water. Encircled in a protective loop, they reflect trust, change, and connection. The piece symbolizes emotional adaptability in uncertain times – imagining the future through the lense of creativity: not as mechanical, but as alive and sentient. Rather than resisting the unknown, the figure reaches out – a gesture of courage, calm and openness.

"Soft Interfaces" is an interdisciplinary research project developing intuitive interfaces for sensitive textiles. It focuses on integrating textiles with electrically conductive liquid metals to create stretchable, touch-sensitive surfaces that are functional, aesthetic, and adaptive. These interfaces enable reactive control and offer a novel tactile user experience, benefiting automotive, home textiles, and medical products. The project is funded by the Fraunhofer Network Science, Art, and Design. We aim to promote interdisciplinary discourse between applied research, art, and design. Joint research projects, idea competitions, residencies, conferences and exhibitions bring together participants from various fields of knowledge, allowing new perspectives on complex social challenges to emerge. Get in touch: wkd@fraunhofer.de PHOTO CREDITS: (c) WINT Design Lab

Under the direction of Yannick Hofmann, the Fraunhofer IAO is developing an interactive media art installation in collaboration with media artist Daniel Heiss and IT specialist Tobias Haller as part of the Techno-Anima project. The work is based on the research project “Techno-Anima”, which explores so-called multi-agent systems. These are AI programs that collaborate to accomplish tasks. It serves as a simulation environment for negotiation processes involving groups comprising both human and non-human actors. On four screens, four virtual figures encounter one another. They exchange ideas, ask questions, and try to solve problems together. They almost seem human: with their own voices, ways of thinking, and little quirks. The installation demonstrates how artificial intelligence can now think collaboratively in a team. Through the interaction of the figures, a space full of new questions emerges: How similar are these digital beings to us? What do they reveal about our thinking, our language, our creativity—and what role does the human play in all of this? The aim is to address the anthropomorphism of AI and its social role. To develop the multi-agent system, a three-part interdisciplinary series of events will be held using participatory innovation methods to generate new ideas and approaches. This will stimulate broader reflection on the project's topics and promote a diverse discourse. The project is funded by the Fraunhofer Network Science, Art, and Design. We aim to promote interdisciplinary discourse between applied research, art, and design. Joint research projects, idea competitions, residencies, conferences and exhibitions bring together participants from various fields of knowledge, allowing new perspectives on complex social challenges to emerge. Get in touch: wkd@fraunhofer.de The exhibition was created with the support of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. PHOTO CREDITS: (c) Yannick Hofmann

"Qoobo" - A Tailed Cushion: Qoobo is a therapeutic robot in the form of a cushion with a tail. When caressed, it waves gently. When rubbed, it swings playfully. And, it occasionally wags just to say hello. It's comforting communication that warms your heart the way animals do. Begin your "tail therapy" today and wrap yourself with fuzzy love. "Petit Qoobo": A petit size tailed cushion. In addition to reacting with its tail, it can go out with you, hang out on your desk, and overall be a presence close to you. "Amagami Ham Ham" - Get play bitten: Yukai Engineering is introducing a new form of relaxation, invented from memories of child-rearing. Our play-biting robot replicates the happy gesture that babies and young pets exhibit for only a short time. It is pleasing, but you need to stop them from the act. Now you can enjoy such charming “play-biting” at any time. "fufuly" - A cushion that breathes with you: fufuly is a calm-inducing robot cushion that breathes, gently inflating and deflating. It uses Deep Breathing Technology, which mimics the way people and animals naturally synchronize their breath with those near them. Take a break, hold fufuly, and inhale deeply. Let the soothing rhythm envelop you. Take a moment to breathe, and find tranquility. "Nakojita FuFu" - A tiny robot cat that cools your drink: Do you avoid hot drinks because your tongue easily gets burned by them? Do you blow on your Ramen for a long time before digging in? If you said yes, you have a “Nékojita” — or “cat tongue” in Japanese. The word refers to heat sensitivity in the mouth — the common condition that affects people around the world. Check it out! It will be just after our kickstarter when we present it at Festival der Zukunft.

How can diametrically opposed states exist simultaneously in superposition? How can one particle communicate its state to another faster than the speed of light? These questions inspire kennedy+swan’s new video: In it, Schrödinger's cat hovers between the North Pole, a bourgeois apartment, and Irish nature, philosophizing about its own paradoxical states of consciousness. Through their imagery, they create metaphors for the ambivalent feelings the quantum world leaves within us. 〷◠‿◠〷 With kind support from the Anita Keijzer Foundation.