Melbourne’s National Communication Museum (NCM) is reframing what it means to befriend a machine. Opening November 1, 2025, FRIEND gathers pioneering robotics, interactive installations, and contemporary artworks that probe the emotional, ethical, and aesthetic dimensions of human–machine companionship.
Rethinking Companionship in the Age of Robotics
The exhibition marks the first Australian appearance of WABOT-2, the legendary humanoid robot developed at Waseda University in the 1980s, known for reading musical scores and performing on an electronic organ. Its presence situates FRIEND within a lineage of human–robot interaction that predates today’s AI revolution. “We are delighted to exhibit WABOT-2 in Australia and explore future collaborations with NCM,” said Professor Tetsuya Ogata, Director at Waseda University.
Beside this historic artefact stands a new generation of robots that challenge conventional ideas of perfection and functionality. From the Interaction and Communication Design (ICD) Lab in Japan come Weak Robots—deliberately fragile, emotionally open machines that short-circuit the industrial myth of robotic precision. As ICD Lab’s Dr. Michio Okada notes, these creations “invite audiences to rethink what robots can be, creating relationships that are more human, not less.”
