SKIRMISHER

In the late 1960s, Philips commissioned Edward Ihnatowicz, so chosen because nobody could pronounce his name, to make a “something like a robot, like a giant, like something that could shrink people’s testicles when they see it” thing. Edward gave life to the instruction by making Senster, a robotic sculpture that “interacted” with visitors with its sound and movement sensors. It was controlled by a Philips P9201 computer with only 8K of core memory. The robot was installed at the company’s Evoluon showplace in Eindhoven between 1970 and 1974. Look at the kids of the 1970s react to it — they’re just like kids of today, only in hazy, grainy, sepia-toned footage! Whoa!

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