A dense, single-page reference for the Lethal Injection Attack Droid Prototype .
Entries are tagged [D] documented (artist catalogue / museum placard / public
record) or [O] observation / inference from this hub’s photographs, per the
no-fabrication rule.
Figure 1 — Reference view of the complete object. Sculpture courtesy of
Christopher Conte. Identity
Field Value Tag Title Lethal Injection Attack Droid Prototype [D] Artist Christopher Conte (b. Bergen, Norway; based New York) [D] Year 2004 [D] Type One-of-a-kind cybermechanical / robotic sculpture [D] Catalogue page microbotic.org → Portfolio → “Lethal Injection Attack Droid” [D]
Physical
Field Value Tag Dimensions 10.5 × 6.5 × 8 in (26.5 × 16.5 × 20 cm) [D] Scale Tabletop / vitrine; “prototype” bench-model size [D] Form Low twin-tracked base + central control deck + forward-rising manipulator [O] Symmetry Bilaterally symmetric chassis; asymmetric (aiming) arm [O]
Materials
Material Where Tag Recycled stainless steel Frames, fasteners, chain, linkage rods [D] catalogue / [O] placement Titanium Selected structural / linkage members [D] catalogue Machined aluminum Frame plates, brackets, wheel bodies [D] catalogue Brass Knurled thumb-nuts, standoffs, axle hardware (not in catalogue line) [O] visible Vintage glass syringe End effector at arm tip [D] catalogue
Drive train (Vol 5)
Field Value Tag Locomotion Two tracked treads (tank-style) [O] Track material Bicycle / roller chain, closed loop per side [D] chain-as-tread / [O] detail Running gear Machined sprockets + sealed ball-bearing road wheels [O] Frame Polished bar side-frames, transverse axles [O] Hardware Knurled brass thumb-nuts / fittings [O] Construction Machined-and-assembled (not cast); salvage + stock [O] Did it ever drive? Not documented — unproven [O] unknown
Control electronics (Vol 6)
Field Value Tag Maker Parallax (silkscreen “PARALLAX Inc”) [O] visible Controller class BASIC Stamp-family module on a Parallax carrier board [O] high-confidence inference Exact SKU Not determinable; consistent with a BS2-class module + carrier (Board of Education / Carrier Board) [O] inference Programming PBASIC over serial, program in onboard EEPROM (BASIC Stamp norm) [D] for the family I/O (BS2 family) 16 general-purpose I/O pins [D] for the family Power 9 Vdc battery → onboard 5 V regulator (TO-220 + 2 electrolytics) [O] visible + label Second board Smaller stacked daughterboard; most plausibly motor/servo drive [O] inference ”Programmable robotic sculpture” Museum placard’s own term [D]
Manipulator & payload (Vol 7)
Field Value Tag Arm Triangulated truss of polished rods, front cantilever [O] Joints Dark anodised clevis-type pivots / rod ends [O] End effector Vintage glass syringe, needle aimed forward [D] syringe / [O] pose Gesture Staged mid-”injection,” advancing the needle [O] Powered articulation? Plausible but not documented [O] unknown
Concept (Vols 1–2)
Point Summary Tag Theme Commentary on the evolution of technology in capital punishment [D] placard Central idea The “seemingly impossible goal of eliminating human involvement” in execution [D] placard Title logic ”Lethal Injection” (clinical) + “Attack” (predatory) + “Droid” (autonomous) + “Prototype” (first of a series) [O] reading Maker’s irony A 16-year prosthetist (restores bodies) builds a machine to end one [D] biography / [O] reading
Timeline & provenance (Vols 1, 3)
Date Event Tag 2004 Piece built [D] 2007 Conte begins selling work through galleries [D] May 2008 Two-person show, Last Rites Gallery (Paul Booth) [D] Jun 2008 Conte leaves prosthetics for full-time art [D] 2008 National Museum of Crime & Punishment opens (Penn Quarter, DC) [D] 2008–2015 Attack Droid on loan to the museum, capital-punishment gallery[D] Sep 2015 Museum closes (lease/sales targets) [D] Present ”Courtesy of Christopher Conte”; post-closure location not documented here [D]/[O]
Sources
Source Used for microbotic.org — “Lethal Injection Attack Droid” catalogue page Title, year, dimensions, materials, loan status microbotic.org — “Artist Bio” (About) Conte biography, method, timeline Museum placard (this hub’s photographs) Interpretive statement; “programmable robotic sculpture” This hub’s photographs of the unit in its vitrine All mechanism observations (chassis, board, manipulator) Wikipedia / press — National Museum of Crime & Punishment Venue history (2008–2015), capital-punishment gallery Parallax product documentation (BASIC Stamp 2 / Board of Education / Boe-Bot) 2004-era controller background (general, not piece-specific)
One-line summary
A shoebox-sized, programmable tracked robot sculpture (Christopher Conte, 2004),
built from recycled stainless steel, titanium, and machined aluminum on
bicycle-chain treads, carrying a vintage glass syringe on an articulated arm and a
real Parallax BASIC Stamp-class controller — made not to kill but to ask what it
would mean to let a machine do the killing.
