Knocker Device by Shashwath Santosh and Nithin Eluvathingal Remotely Taps Wood to Probe Superstition

Key facts

• Designers Shashwath Santosh and Nithin Eluvathingal created a remote device called a "knocker" that attaches to a tree and knocks on wood from afar.
• The device is triggered via a web app with a large red button labeled "knock on wood"; the signal travels through Wi-Fi and a central server to a distant knocker.
• Each knocker contains a tiny robotic arm and a display screen showing a ticker of each knock sent to the device.
• The knockers are tied around trees with a bright red strap and are designed to be installed as a group, or "fleet."
• According to Eluvathingal, the distance is "practically limitless," allowing someone in a Tokyo cafe to knock on a tree in New York's Central Park.
• The project is part of the pair's ongoing series Machines Responding to Superstitions, which previously included a portable black cat radar under the studio name Kinky Kashayam.
• Shashwath Santosh is a New York-based designer working on experimental machines and Google AI; Nithin Eluvathingal is a researcher and programmer in Toronto currently working with McDonald's Canada.
• The project follows other conceptual design objects addressing social issues, including a tote bag that converts into a life jacket, a stuffed toy resembling a data centre, and a device that slows New York Citi Bikes in rent-burdened neighbourhoods.