History of Generative Art - The Senster by Edward Ihnatowicz
In today’s History of Generative Art series, we introduce The Senster, an early example of robotic art created by Polish-born artist and sculptor Edward Ihnatowicz for the tech company Philips. Produced in 1970, the piece was one of the first large-scale robotic sculptures to be controlled by a digital computer and to respond interactively to its environment. Ihnatowicz’s work prefigured later developments in interactive installations, robotic art, and AI systems within the arts.
The Senster, 1970, Source: Philips archive
Edward Ihnatowicz was born in Poland in 1926 and later moved to the United Kingdom. He studied fine art and sculpture at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford. For several years, he created traditional sculpture, but over time he became interested in engineering, cybernetics, and how technology could be used to create dynamic and interactive art. In the 1960s, he started experimenting with how machines could respond to their environment in lifelike ways.
In 1968, he developed SAM (Sound Activated Mobile), one of the earliest moving sculptures that responded directly to its surroundings. Using a basic electronic circuit and hydraulic pistons, SAM could twist and lean toward the direction of sustained sounds, following people as they moved nearby. It was exhibited at the Cybernetic Serendipity show in London and later in North America, and served as a precursor to his more advanced kinetic sculptures.
SAM (Sound Activated Mobile), 1968, Source: manchesterhive.com
The Senster, 1970, Source: Philips archive
In 1970, Ihnatowicz created his most ambitious project, The Senster. The work was commissioned by Philips for their permanent exhibition space, the Evoluon in Eindhoven, and was one of the first robotic sculptures controlled by a computer. Unlike his earlier work like SAM, which responded only to sound, Senster reacted to both sound and movement.
The sculpture was hydraulically powered and responsive to its environment, using a network of microphones and Doppler radar sensors installed in its head and eyes to detect sound and motion from nearby viewers. These inputs were processed by a Philips P9201 computer, programmed in Assembly language. Ihnatowicz developed the core of the software with support from Peter Lundahl, a system administrator at Evoluon.
The Senster, 1970 at Evoluon in Eindhoven, Source: Philips archive
The work was over 4 meters tall and constructed from welded steel tubing, with a form inspired by a lobster claw. It was hand-built with the help of a technician from the Mechanical Engineering Department at University College London. The design allowed it to lean, twist, and reach into space, following voices and motion. Initially, the robot reacted to loud sounds, but later Ihnatowicz reprogrammed it. If the environment became too loud or erratic, the sculpture would retreat, creating the impression of a sensitive, lifelike response.
After its removal in 1974, The Senster was dismantled. The skeleton remained on display in the open air in Zeeland for over 40 years and was acquired and shipped to Poland in 2017, where the University of Science and Technology in Krakow organized a Re:SENSTER project focused on reviving the work.
Following The Senster, Ihnatowicz continued to create moving and interactive works, including The Bandit, while working at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University College London. At a time when computers were still largely inaccessible to artists, he demonstrated how digital systems, sensors, and hydraulics could be used to create artworks that respond to their environment.
RE:SENSTER project by University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Source: wro2019.wrocenter.pl