Reference · In-house production
An escape room featuring AI
conduco space:escape is our own installation: a walk-in escape room in which generative AI is not a tool, but a character. At Aufwind 2026, the trade fair in Vreden, over 450 people played through it over the course of two days.
- Project
- Produced in-house by conduco labs
- Featured on
- Aufwind 2026, Vreden Business Fair
- Engine
- VectorStories
At a glance
What happened over the last two days
>450
Participants completed the station in two days
15 mins
Duration of one cycle, with continuous supervision
Up to 6
Players play together as a crew
3 languages
German, English and Dutch, expandable
The Premiere
Aufwind 2026: the stand at the trade fair
The first public version of conduco space:escape was showcased at Aufwind 2026, the business fair in Vreden. The station ran continuously for two days: groups of up to six people, one session after another, with staff on hand throughout. Over 450 participants played through the experience during this time – ranging from primary school children to corporate teams.
The WDR also reported on the AI escape room.
Aufwind 2026 · Vreden Trade Fair · two days of non-stop activity
Watch the WDR report
The project
AI as a narrative counterpart
conduco space:escape is an immersive escape room in which generative AI does not act as a technical tool, but as a character in its own right – it develops the story in real time, reacts to decisions and plays an active part.
To find its way back to Earth, the AI must learn from the participants what our planet looks like – as described through their own favourite places. What the group shares becomes part of the story; the machine’s memory is formed from the memories of the people.
No two runs are the same
The narrative is neither fixed nor entirely predictable – each group experiences a story that is generated as the game unfolds.
The group nourishes the memory
What the participants say about their favourite places becomes the material from which the AI builds its picture of the Earth.
Light and sound come into play
A DMX-controlled lighting, sound, video and effects setup provides the backdrop to the action: haze, moving lights and a reactive soundscape intertwine with the AI dialogue to form a cohesive dramatic structure.
Object recognition in a room
The station acknowledges the crew’s progress in real time – communication takes place through gestures, not just words.
The year is 2056. Your crew discovers an abandoned spaceship in space. On board: no sign of the crew. Only the AI – its memory damaged by a solar storm.
Artistic approach
Making the machine’s limitations tangible
This is explicitly not about affirming AI. The year 2056 is not a promise, but an experimental framework: fiction allows us to experience the mechanics and limitations of generative systems first-hand – not as a lecture, but physically and collectively.
When does AI hallucinate?
Participants experience first-hand where the system comes up with convincing ideas – and learn to question the outputs rather than simply trusting them.
Who does the group trust – the machine or one another?
Progress arises from negotiation between the players. The AI is an opponent, not an authority figure.
Where does the system take control, and where is there room for manoeuvre?
The dramatic structure visibly shifts control back and forth – and makes the question of agency itself a central theme of the play.
The AI runs entirely on self-hosted, European infrastructure. This is a deliberate choice that embeds the issues of data sovereignty and the origin of the systems we interact with into our work.
Design
A set design that swallows up the technology
The station has been designed as a continuous illustrated world: windows, hatches and technical panels all follow a set design developed specifically for the installation. The LED wall blends seamlessly into the illustrated architecture – and it is from this that the AI speaks.
A consistent visual style
The windows, hatches, panels and props are all based on a single design, not taken from a catalogue.
The LED wall is part of the wall
The screen is embedded within the architectural design – this gives the AI a place where it exists.
Set-up & Operation
Portable, indoor, set up in two days
The installation comprises an enclosed, darkened interior space (6.00 × 2.50 m) featuring a video wall, audio, a hazer and gaming stations, as well as an open antechamber (6.00 × 1.50 m) with an information display and technical equipment. Set-up and dismantling are carried out entirely by our team; we provide all the hardware, props, sound, lighting and haze.
Room
Floor area of at least 4 × 6 m, ceiling height of at least 3 m. Indoor, with the option to darken the space, and a level, load-bearing floor.
Electricity
230 V / 50 Hz (Schuko), at least one dedicated circuit within easy reach of the installation.
Network
A wired Ethernet connection is essential – Wi-Fi is not an option. Minimum downstream speed of 50 Mbit/s, low latency, no captive portal or content filters.
Special effects
Artificial haze is an integral part of the production and requires approval as a special effect (smoke detector isolation, fire safety). We’ll bring the equipment with us.
Your home, your story
Behind space:escape is VectorStories: you retain control of the narrative framework, whilst the AI uses it to generate ever-new playthroughs in real time. Everything we’ve built for our own station – experience design, lighting and spatial technology, software – we’ll build for you too.
All references