Axhibition 2025: 'Whimsical Criti...cal'

Axhibition is an annual showcase featuring the latest research and prototypes from the Actuated Experience Lab (AxLab) and Actuated UIs & Tech (Class) at the University of Chicago. This exhibition highlights interactive technologies that take physical, actuated forms—creating novel, tangible, and embodied user experiences that explore future user interfaces and physical environments enriched with computing, robotics, and interactive technologies.

For Axhibition 2025, we embrace the theme "Whimsical Criti…cal." This theme reflects the dynamic interplay between playfulness and critical inquiry—two essential perspectives that AxLab values in exploring the future of technology and human experience. We believe that whimsical, humorous, and tangible interactions can spark unconventional, out-of-the-box ideas that reimagine everyday life. At the same time, a critical perspective allows us to question our evolving relationship with digital media, technology, and the surrounding physical world, fostering new forms of speculation and critique.

To design, invent, and speculate about the future of human-computer interaction, we see whimsy and critique as inseparable forces. We hope the prototypes on display will invite visitors to engage with them playfully while also provoking deeper reflections on the technologies that shape our lives.

This year’s event will feature approximately 40 interactive hardware projects developed by students from AxLab and Class.

📅 Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2025

⏰ Time: 1:00 – 5:00 PM

📍 Location: John Crerar Library, 1F Lobby, University of Chicago

Join us for an afternoon of hands-on exploration, curiosity, and critical whimsy!