Fear of robots and other supposedly sentient technology is what motivated organizers to host ArtBots, held in New York City this past weekend. Exhibits included:

BabyBott looked like a giant baby bottle and cooed when it was cuddled. Its talent: making people take care of it.

Tribblation, a sort of whiskered soccer ball ‘bot, was particularly popular with younger ArtBots attendees. Trib has hundreds of pressure, temperature, sound and light sensors, enabling it to respond to stimuli like compliments and stroking.

LEMUR, the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots, won the Audience Choice award. A band of robotic instruments that “play themselves,” LEMUR features five melodious robots.