Design practice Kram/Weisshaar will install a "robotic octopus" in Trafalgar Square as part of this autumn's London Design Festival.
The installation, called Outrace, will consist of six robotic arms, rescued from a lifetime spent assembling Quattros on the Audi production line, and arranged in a circle between Nelson's Column and the steps up to the National Gallery plaza. In an interactive twist, members of Joe Public will be able to take control of the arms and, in designers' jargon, "render text input as light traces drawn by the synchronized mechanical tentacles"; with a bit of practice beforehand, it shouldn't be too difficult to get them performing YMCA or the Macarena.
The resulting doodles will be "recorded using specialized high definition video equipment and published online". Hopefully it'll be more successful than the underwhelming memory cloud two years ago.
More pictures at Dezeen
London Design Festival runs from 18th - 26th September 2010
