A MAZE. / Berlin 2026

Most controllers are designed to disappear. These ones are designed to be touched, watched, and cared for.
In this talk, Quinn Liu reflects on the making of How To Pet Your Cat and InSync XR — two physical-digital works that turn interaction into a tactile encounter between body and object. A giant plush cat becomes public comedy and a social magnet. A responsive animatronic creature in XR becomes something quieter: a presence that notices how you move, and asks to be approached with care. Across these projects, the talk explores how material, sensors, sound, feedback, and movement shape the way we read — and come to trust — machines that feel almost alive.