I-Lexioo is an interactive divinatory Oracle.
Expression of an algorithmic divinity, the device takes the appearance of a slot machine surmounted by a kinetic robotic humanoid creature.
The installation, completely autonomous, is controlled by a Neural Network (AI, etc.). This has been trained to interact with the user. The latter asks him questions about the future and the device answers him in real time. (Speech to text - Text to speech)

The name “I-Lexioo” refers, with a note of humor, to the three virtual personal assistants developed by the companies Amazon (Alexa), Apple (Siri) and Google (Hub).

Operation : The visitor places himself in front of the structure, inserts a piece and thus obtains the right to invoke the occult algorithmic creature - CROA -.
The creature then wakes from its sleep and the visitor can then ask his question in English, the creature answers in real time. The device can recognize people and certain morphological characteristics. (Machine vision)

The project aims to be a current art project, addressing a current societal theme relating to the generation of content in real time using neural networks. Certainly with a sometimes humorous angle of approach, it serves as a catalyst for discussion and exchange with the public on the sensitive subject of artificial intelligence. It is important to specify here that the installation is not connected to the internet network, the Neural Network and its specific dependencies operate autonomously.
The software comprising the content generation engine is based on 3 different machine learning models.
Environment and user detections using Tensorflow technology
Standalone camera tracking
Image classification,
Object detection,
Speech Recognition.
The responses are generated using a model trained from a GPTNeo body.

The central program is of the “state machine” type powered by various information aggregation modules :

After processing the data and thanks to NLP (natural language processing) and Text to Speech and conversely Speech to Text modules, the program is capable of formulating responses and stating them in the form of a synthetic voice.

The main script is developed in Python and assumes the role of conductor of the different elements of the installation.

It revolves around 2 main functions :

On the one hand, it generates responses in real time and manages the interactions between the creature and the user, as well as the screen display.

The movements and light devices are managed by two micro-controllers such as Arduino and RPI Pico, which communicate with the main script using a tailor-made protocol, via cable.

Here’s a video of the full unfolding :

Here’s a video illustrating a few invocations to Ilexioo :

Mixed media :
MacMini computer, Aluminum, Micro controllers & electronics, amplifier and speakers, motors, camera, screen, LED strip, Wood and custom software.

Keywords :
Neural networks ; Artificial intelligence ; Speculative ; Art installation ; Robotics, Kinetics ; STT ; NLP ; meaning of life, « Human »

Software By Martin Pirson
Production : "La Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles" & Mathieu Zurstrassen