How Madison Polidoro Built a Robot to Push Back Against Delivery Bots and Bring Art to the Streets

From unease to an idea

Polidoro said a delivery robot on a Philadelphia street appeared to watch and follow her, leaving her unsettled. She wanted to make something that could rival the machines, but invite people to engage with it.

She began working with Ministry of Awe around 2020. The collective asked her to create a mobile artwork for public streets; an early idea was a large float, before the collaborators decided a smaller, robot-like sculpture made more sense.

Making Awebot by hand

The project was Polidoro’s first involving technology. She said she learned through YouTube, despite not considering herself tech-savvy, and described her usual process as handmade, using pen and paper rather than AI or 3D modeling.

She built a frame for the sculpture’s outer layer, then added wood and foam, carved and sculpted the form, and coated and painted it. The result was a weather-resistant surface she described as plasticky and rubbery.

A sculpture meets the public

Awebot’s eyes and wheels are operated by remote control. An employee of the collective takes the sculpture out and drives it around. Polidoro said encounters vary with the public: children and dogs approach, some people interact with Awebot, and others take photographs. She wanted to turn familiar technology into something approachable, curious, fun, and silly.

Possibility of more robots

Polidoro designed Awebot with plans to continue the project. She said the sculpture may soon have siblings, though no further details were provided.