SUTD Celebrates Playful Innovations at Inaugural Festival of Funny Machines

Laughter and playful engineering took centre stage at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) as four distinctive innovations—a toilet seat that measures human waste, an AI water-dispenser machine, a sneeze-activated magician’s hat that dispenses tissue, a pair of spectacles with wipers—were some of the winners at SUTD’s first Festival of Funny Machines, celebrating how humour, design and artificial intelligence (AI) can come together to create joyful, human-centred experiences.

Organised by SUTD, the Festival of Funny Machines brought together individuals, families, students and creators of all ages to reimagine what technology could be when play and imagination were placed at the heart of design. Held at the SUTD Campus Centre on Saturday, 10 January 2026, the Festival showcased how Design AI can spark joy, curiosity and meaningful human connection.

A total of 58 interactive “funny machines” were submitted across three categories — Intergenerational, Individual, and Team (School/Open). Following a multi-stage selection process, 21 entries progressed to the semi-finals, before 12 finalists were shortlisted to present their physical prototypes and design journeys to the jury during the Festival.

The finalists were evaluated by a six-member jury, including Adjunct Professor Jeffrey Jehwan Kim, a South Korea-based spatial artist and AI-driven design practitioner; Ar. Belinda Huang, Co-Founder of ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism and President’s Design Award recipient; and Dr Debbie Ding, Assistant Professor in Digital Arts at SUTD. Prizes were awarded in each category, with vouchers valued at S$800 for first place, S$500 for second place, S$300 for third place, and S$100 for fourth and fifth places where applicable.

Among the standout winners in the Individual category was “Bowelbot”, a toilet‑mounted seat that measures the weight of human waste. Creator Xander Chin, a first‑year SUTD student, entered the challenge to sharpen his engineering skills. He salvaged four load cells from a weighing machine, attached them to a toilet seat, and used an analogue‑to‑digital converter to translate the raw data into the user’s weight before and after sitting, thereby calculating the stool’s mass. On receiving the award, the 22‑year‑old said: “This is my first challenge since joining SUTD and I entered with the intention to win. More than the prize money, the real reward is the fun learning experience.”

The runner-up in the same category was the “Funny Storm Dispenser”, a water dispenser crafted by semi-retired engineer, Mr Ng Pan Yew, 63, and his longtime friend, Mr Ong Hwee Khoon, 63. The duo have known each other since secondary school and, after retirement, have been taking courses together—including 3D‑printing—and entering competitions such as the Festival. Built and 3D-printed in just two weeks, the dispenser releases water when its AI detects a cup placed beneath it, flashes thunder and “lightning” in vivid colour while “striking” a cowboy figure beside it.

A standout in the Team (School/Open) category was the “Achoo‑cadabra Tissue Hat” by 23-year-old Ms Nurul Amirah binte Mohamed Imran and 22-year-old Ms Shanna Tang from Nanyang Technological University. After missing out on an earlier 3D‑printing competition, they entered the Festival’s Design AI Funny Machine Challenge to make up for it. “We were inspired by the Unnecessary Inventions Instagram page,” said Amirah. “It’s been a great learning experience! We had a lot of fun, and I’m glad we joined and won!”

In the Intergenerational category, the top entry, “Clearish Vision Pro”, sprang from the everyday frustration of blurry lenses for spectacle wearers. Inspired by car windshield wipers, 11-year-old Xue Kun Xu, his best friend 12-year-old Huang Tian Ni, and his father Mr Xue Ji Yuan, reimagined the concept for the face. Over three months they turned the whimsical idea into a working prototype using innovative thinking and AI‑assisted design: a rain‑water sensor on the bridge of a pair of spectacles sends data to the Arduino Nano, a small, breadboard-friendly microcontroller, which triggers a servo motor to swing tiny wipers across the lenses. Mr Xue mused: “By combining our idea with AI, we’ve created a solution that solves a tiny problem in a way absolutely nobody asked for. It is, in every sense, a truly ‘funny machine’ that celebrates the joy of over‑engineering the everyday.”

The runner-up in the same category was “Reach for the Stars, a simple yet heartfelt creation by lecturer Mr Andre Poh and his eight‑year‑old son Asher. Mr Poh has been turning everyday moments into creative challenges, teaching Asher to build mechanical toys since the boy was in kindergarten. Their game invites players to roll a marble as far upward as possible using two upcycled acrylic rods that feature sudden drops. Crafted from scrap plastic, the design shows how play can strengthen a father‑son bond while sparking curiosity and learning. Reflecting on the experience, Mr Poh said: “Design AI isn’t just about new tech—it’s also about blending old‑school ideas with future possibilities. Building this together gave us time to experiment and learn side by side. It was a simple way to connect, and watching Asher enjoy the process made it especially meaningful.”

Together, these winning designs captured the spirit of the Festival — the belief that joy is a powerful design tool that fuels creativity, risk-taking and experimentation. The Festival’s manifesto emphasised that “laughter and joy are powerful drivers of creativity and innovation,” encouraging participants to embrace mistakes as part of the design process and explore new possibilities through humour and play.

Jointly organised by SUTD’s Architecture and Sustainable Design (ASD) and Engineering Product Development (EPD) pillars, the Festival reflected SUTD’s interdisciplinary approach to Design and AI. The Festival was supported by the James Dyson Foundation, which contributed S$50,000 to encourage hands-on experimentation, creative confidence and playful learning through design and engineering.

Anchored in Design AI — SUTD’s distinctive approach integrating AI with creative, ethical and human-centred design — the Festival also featured hands-on workshops ranging from building Sumo-Bots to clowning sessions for families and children, reinforcing the idea that innovation can be joyful, inclusive and deeply human.

Reflecting on the Festival, Professor Khoo Peng Beng, Head of Pillar, Architecture and Sustainable Design (ASD) at SUTD and a jury member, said: “The Festival of Funny Machines captures something deeply important to the future of design — that creativity flourishes when people feel free to play, explore and laugh. Design AI isn’t only about intelligent systems; it is about nurturing intelligent, joyful designers who dare to imagine new possibilities for humanity.”