The first robot in Croatia, TIOSS, was developed in 1961.

The first robot in Croatia, TIOSS, was developed at the beginning of the 1960s, more precisely in 1961, by Branimir Makanec, who, at that time, was a first-year student of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Zagreb. TIOSS was publicly presented in 1965 at the Zagreb Fair, where he distributed propaganda leaflets, saying: Here you go, and after the leaflet had been taken, he would repeat the same action. In 1966, the very next year, he walked around Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb.

The robot had two eyes with light sensors and was programmed to look in a direction with more light. Makanec points out that during the period when the robot was created, he was studying neurophysiology as a hobby, thinking about developing a real robot. He named it TIOSS, which is an abbreviation of the Croatian expression teledirigirani izvršni organ samoupravljačkog sustava (remote-controlled executive organ of the self-management system). He collected parts for TIOSS from garbage dumps and assembled them into a metal casing shaped to be as human-like as possible.

The robot weighed about 150 kilograms, was about 220 centimeters tall, and could reach a speed of 30 kilometers per hour. An electricity-powered accumulator charger was placed in the left leg of the robot, while the right one contained relays that controlled logical functions, i.e. obeyed program commands sent by the computer. A microphone was placed in the robot’s chest and a speaker and two optical sensors were placed in its head, responding to light changes. The robot also had metal eyelids, so in bright light it looked like as if it were blinking. Its head could rotate left and right, and due to the sensor, it always turned towards the brightest light.

Branimir Makanec and the group Kibernetičari: TIOSS, robot, 1961.–1965.

1963 – The Belgrade Hand – a model representing the world’s first prosthetic robotic hand was created in Yugoslavia

“The Belgrade Hand” is a model of the world’s first prosthetic robotic hand and represents the precursor of all bionic prostheses. It had myoelectric control and sensory feedback and was able to perform two key actions – squeezing into a fist and rounding up with outstretched fingers. It was created in 1963 by Rajko Tomović and Midorag Rakić, professors at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade. The hand had five fingers, which contained touch and myoelectric control sensors, i.e. sensors for control using an electrical signal.

In the 1960s, Tomović initiated research on orthopedic aids and started making the first prosthetic robotic hand. He was one of the main participants in the development of the first computing machine for the electric power industry, the first analog computer of domestic production, the first domestic electronic computer, as well as the first Yugoslav digital computer CER 10, developed in 1960. In 1963, along with Miodrag Rakić, his colleague from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, he started pioneering work on the production of an artificial organ with the sense of touch in the Laboratory for Automatic Control at the Mihajlo Pupin Institute. In their scientific research, they used theoretical research papers in the field of rehabilitation and orthotic robotics.

The hand has never been used for medical purposes, but it has been used for further research in the field of robotics that has influenced the further development of robotic arms in the world. Today, the model of the hand can be seen at the Museum of Science and Technology in Belgrade.

1978 – the first robot UMS-1 used in the domestic industry in Yugoslavia was developed

The first industrial robot to be used in practice was the UMS-1 robot, designed and manufactured at the Institute in 1978 and used at the Teleoptik factory for the installation of thermostat assemblies for cars. In the years that followed, several successful prototypes of industrial robots with software such as UMS2-1980, UMS3-1981, etc. were developed. Prototypes of industrial robots were made in cooperation with leading Yugoslav companies.

Industrial robot UMS, 1978.

1980 – the first industrial robot, Goro, was created in Ljubljana

The robotics industry in Slovenia was formed in the 1980s with the development of two early models – Goro and Roki. The first industrial robot Goro 1 was developed in IJS and manufactured in Gorenje, and its operation started in 1980. After its launch, the scientists started designing the next series of Goro robots, and only two of the first version’s components “survived”, as the others were used to build the newer versions. Later versions were used by Gorenje for the jobs of painting, enameling and varnishing of appliances, which are unhealthy for humans due to the emission of strong odors or harmful substances.

Photo: Jože Suhadolnik

On the other hand, in our region, programs, as well as games, were developed using the basic programming language – BASIC. Although the name BASIC is actually an acronym, it points to the primary purpose of the language: namely, BASIC represented the basis for all those who wanted to take the first steps in programming and later master more complex computers more easily.

BASIC programming language

As Dejan Ristanović vividly explains, the whole process was performed via magnetic tapes: “If you put it in a tape recorder and start listening to it, you will hear a very unpleasant sound that only appears to be an even buzz. Your computer is quite familiar with this sound: it is enough to connect the computer to the magnetic tape recorder using a special cable and type in one word, and the computer will start listening to the tape patiently. After a few minutes, a message will reappear on the screen indicating that the text has been read and understood. Then you type in another word and the computer will start performing the action that was recorded on the tape. A game of chess, or a new video game will then boot up, the computer will give you a mathematical problem, or a cartoon will just start playing on the screen.”

In addition to BASIC, a machine language was also used, but BASIC provided the ability to understand and analyze, which was also a form of entertainment.

The creator of the Galaksija, Voja Antonić, designed a multitude of games for this computer on his own, including Zamak (The Castle) – graphically very similar to the Snake game on mobile phones. The aim of the game was to collect the keys through the labyrinth, while avoiding the snakes.

In Slovenia, however, one of the first notable games for ZX Spectrum – Kontrabant was created. The publisher was youth Radio Študent, with one of the creators being Žiga Turk, who was later a Slovenian minister. The aim of this text-based adventure, presented at the Book Fair in Belgrade, was to assemble a computer. In Kontrabant 2, the aim was to find the door for the year 2000.

Žiga Turk

Despite the fact that several pirate cassettes could be purchased for the price of one domestic game, they still achieved great popularity. Among about 15 titles that Suzy Soft released, Ali Baba from 1985 stood out – resembling Pac-Man, and Pac-Man apparently served as the basis for the game Cvećar (the Florist), which was released by the same publishing house in 1987. The aim, as you may guess, was to plant flowers, while being distracted by a team of hooligans. At the time of the release of Ali Baba, a special positive attitude towards this game was present, caused by the fact that Mario Mandić, its creator from Osijek, was the winner of the Moj mikro award, that was awarded to the winner of the domestic IT magazines contest.

The game named Na Balkanu Ništa Novo (Nothing New in the Balkans) (1989), in which the aim was to save the Lake Dojran, dealt with the political events in Yugoslavia in 1988 and the characters were real individuals from that period (Fikret Abdić, Janez Janša, Slobodan Milošević, Đorđe Balašević), as well as pop-culture characters (Đekna) and local mythical creatures (fairies of Neum) of that time.

It is clear, therefore, that there were games designed for the domestic market, written in Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian, but there were also those purchased by foreign publishers, some of which were Coyote Software, Visions Software Factory and Imagine.

Vinča Institute

An important element in the development of science in Serbia as well as in the territory of the former Yugoslavia was the establishment of the Vinča Institute, founded in 1948 by Professor Pavle Savić. Thanks to his great role in creating the idea of a large scientific center in SFRY, in June 1956, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences began its work. This scientific research center primarily focused on the research of state-of-the-art topics in natural sciences: physics, chemistry and biology. In addition, Vinča had a laboratory for mathematics and numerical machines, which gathered a large number of scientists and engineers at the time and was crucial for the creation of the first Yugoslav computer and the beginning of the development of the IT industry in the region.

Professor Pavle Savić

In the Vinča Institute, there was a large group of researchers and scientists working on the production of the first computer, about seventy people under the leadership of academics Dušan Mitrović and Rajko Tomović. Production lasted for four years, starting from 1956 to 1960 when the first Yugoslav computer, the famous CER 10, was created. In addition to many engineers, specialists and technicians, one of the leading scientists in the production of this computer was Dr. Tihomir Aleksić. The computer was named, among other things, after the Cer Mountain in the foothills of which Aleksić grew up, and the name itself also fits with the abbreviation that represents the Cifarski Elektronski Računar (Digital Electronic Computer), which CER actually was.

Manufacturing computers in the 1960s was very expensive and demanding, and in the first ten years only the following four countries in Europe made their own computers: England, Germany, France, Russia, and also Yugoslavia. This was a great achievement for the former Yugoslavia, proving it could compete with other European countries in terms of technology development, along with knowledge and great investment in science.

After the first successful series of CER 10 computers, Yugoslavia continued to produce computers. In addition to the first CER 10 model, the most successful was the CER 22 computer, which was used in the Computing Center of The Belgrade Bank, Belgrade Waterworks, Jugopetrol…

In the mid-1960s, production of computers was still a financially very large undertaking because not only was the money needed for the production of computers, a large sum of it had to be allocated to open factories where they would be produced. Poorer countries gave up the race, but there were no obstacles of this type in Yugoslavia.

Mihajlo Pupin Institute

At the Vinča Institute, the laboratory for mathematics and numerical machines, together with the Institute for Radio Engineering, formed the Mihajlo Pupin Institute. All of the scientists who worked in Vinča continued to work in Pupin, an institute whose main characteristic was scientific research and development. Later, during the 1970s, the Pupin Institute started with a more serious development of a device from which a whole family of devices emerged – with software and hardware that are still applicable today. The Pupin Institute also developed a number of devices for the management of transportation, production and distribution of electricity. Data processing computers produced in the Institute were used by the City Institute for Statistics and Informatics, keeping registers of streets, taxpayers and military service records.

Technical faculties as spaces for the development of informatics in Yugoslavia

Along with the development of computers, first in the Vinča Institute and later in Pupin, universities began to introduce computer subjects and thus educate the general population in this new field. As early as 1961, computer subjects were introduced at postgraduate studies at the School of Electrical Engineering (ETF) in Belgrade. Soon in addition to the ETF, the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Civil Engineering introduced subjects related to computing. The first department dedicated to computers at the ETF in Belgrade was founded in 1970 and it employed only three professors at that time, because the field of study itself was still in development. Yugoslavia was among the first to introduce computer subjects in high schools shortly after universities, as early as 1972/73. Mathematical Grammar School was the only high school in SFRY at the time that had its own computer. Only one user could work on it at a time, but it was of great help for practical exercises and crucial for further development and training of young people in this field.

In 1977, a new department was introduced at the Faculty of Mathematics, called E-department. The introduction of computer subjects to universities and high schools has greatly influenced and contributed to the development of the IT sector in SFRY.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a noticeable improvement in the IT industry in the former Yugoslavia. In parallel with developments in Serbia and in other federal states, new spaces that also produced their own computers were developed and founded.

Iskra Delta

In the 1970s, the state-owned company Elektrotehna had its own computer sales sector, but it later grew into a specialized computer company, Delta. However, after a year in operation, Delta separated from Elektrotehna and began to cooperate with the company Iskra, together creating the company Iskra Delta. This Slovenian company developed very quickly, had its own sales and service centers throughout Yugoslavia, and will be especially remembered for the production of Delta 800 computers. Unfortunately, due to delays with microcomputer technology and the new freedom of import on the territory of Yugoslavia, Iskra Delta collapsed in 1988. The company went bankrupt on February 5, 1990, and the proceedings were finally competed 31 years later, in February 2021.

Article about the Iskra Delta computer in Delo magazine, Ljubljanski dnevni list

Ivo Lola Ribar Institute

Long before Iskra Delta, more precisely in 1963, another institute was founded on the territory of SFRY, called Ivo Lola Ribar, which became one of the leading technological institutes in the former Yugoslavia in the 1970s. However, Lola did not have much of a stake in computer production until 1985 when the Institute for Machine Tools and Tools (IAMA) and the Ivo Lola Ribar New Technologies Institute (ILR) merged and started producing machinery, robots, metallurgical and other equipment. A team from the Lola Institute at the time was working on developing hardware for industrial controllers that were installed in machines that Lola successfully exported at the time. They applied this acquired knowledge to the project of the tiny Lola 8 computer, whose hardware was designed by Radovan Novaković, while the software was written by Nela Radovanović. The Lola 8 computer was created in 1982, and the Institute continued to develop in this area, and shortly after, the Lola 8a computer appeared.

Informatics Society of Serbia (DIS)

In addition to the official development that took place at institutes or in companies throughout Yugoslavia, there was also the establishment of specialized associations in the field of Information Technology and computing. One such association was formed on June 28, 1973, in Belgrade at the School of Electrical Engineering, when the Informatics Society of Serbia (DIS) was founded at the founding assembly. The aim of the association was to gather professionals in the field of Information and Communication Technologies and actively participate in the development of the information society.

Dr. Tihomir Aleksić, one of the creators of the first CER 10 computer, was appointed as the first president of the Initiative Committee for the establishment of the Society, which still exists and gathers in order to work on innovative solutions in this field.

Computer development in Croatia

As development in Yugoslavia had been successful for almost two decades, in addition to centers in Serbia, other members of the federation also manufactured computers. In the 1980s, Croatia launched several models of computers on the market. PEL, a company from Varaždin, produced the Galeb home computer in 1981, which was designed by Miroslav Kocjan. A little more than two hundred units of Galeb were manufactured, but its price was quite high. Soon after Galeb, Miroslav Kocjan began to work on the development of computers that would be more advanced than Galeb, with fewer components, easier to produce, with better graphics performance and an acceptable price. The working title of the new project was YU102, and already in 1984, a computer called Orao was created and appeared on the market.

In addition to the PEL company from Varaždin, company called Ivasim from Ivanić Grad entered the race. This company’s primary goal was the production of chemical products used in the oil industry. However, in the early 1980s, Ivasim developed and acquired its own branch, a company for the production and development of personal computers, called Ivel. In collaboration with experts from the US who worked for Apple at the time, the Ivel Ultra school computer was created, also known as Impuls 9020. This model was designed by Branimir Makanec. In addition to this model, Ivel introduced a universal Z-3 microcomputer that was also compatible with the Apple II device. What makes the computers created by Ivel recognizable is a specially designed keyboard created according to the JUS standard, that is, with all signs and letters appropriate for the region. As stated by the company at the time, this model was therefore suitable for typewriting classes.

Development of Information Technology in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina did not lag behind other countries, and the company Energoinvest from Sarajevo, produced a model called Iris 8 in the 1980s, which was also a clone of the then popular Apple II model. However, the use of this computer was limited to state institutions that were under obligation to purchase only domestic equipment.

Electronics industry Niš (Ei Niš)

The electronics industry from Niš also joined other companies in the hope of producing another computer for domestic use, this time a school computer. They succeeded at the end of 1985, presenting two models, the Pecom 32 and then the Pecom 64. They were unusual-looking computers, very compact, with keys arranged according to the QWERTY scheme. Pecom computers were produced and supplied to schools, and were also sold widely, even in bookstores. Batch sizes and the number of copies sold are unknown, but Pecom was seen in shop windows long after its production cycle was completed.

Source: Naissus.info

Source: Ei-Elektronska Industrija Niš – klub poštovalaca

The first computer BBS system – Bulletin Board System in Serbia

In parallel with the great progress that has occurred in the production of home computers, various computer systems were being developed, and one of them is the BBS (Bulletin Board System). Computer systems of this type appeared in the world in the late seventies, while in Yugoslavia one of the larger BBSs began operating in 1989. Sezam, as it was originally called, this BBS worked on the principle of message exchange, as the forerunner of the forums.

Users of this BBS initially had access and could only communicate via a telephone line, initially only one, and at a later stage as many as 15 lines. In addition to Sezam, BBSs also existed in Niš, Croatia and Slovenia. Sezam was a particularly important channel for communication, as various conferences were held using it and numerous debates on various topics were initiated. In the beginning, it was mainly visited by technologically educated people who knew how to access this system and use it. In the first five years, from November 1989 to November 1994, users wrote 394,000 messages or 418 megabytes of text on a variety of topics, ranging from computer to politics, culture, music and others. Sezam users called themselves “Sezamovci” and represented a forerunner of sorts of social networks.

After six years of operations and development of the Sezam BBS, co-owners and founders Dejan Ristivojević and Zoran Životić decided to continue with the improvement of the BBS, and on December 19, 1995, Sezam Pro was created, and they began operating commercially, i.e. expanding the network and connecting to the Internet.

The 90s and the Internet

The 1980s were very successful years for the development of computers in the former Yugoslavia, however, the end of the eighties and the breakup of Yugoslavia changed the situation in this field as well. Technology has already advanced considerably in the early 1990s, while there was a noticeable period of stagnation when it comes to the development of new computers in Yugoslavia. This stagnation was partly the product of the wars fought in the early 1990s, accompanied by sanctions and inflation. Computers became expensive to manufacture, and were mostly imported, usually through the black market. Researchers and enthusiasts in this field increasingly focused and tried to connect to the world wide web called – the Internet.

In the early 1990s, the Internet network became more widespread, and, in Belgrade, so did the Academic Communication Network, the most modern computer network in Serbia, which included several faculties in its network (School of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy).

The first optical cables within the city were installed in 1991 in the technical faculties and at the Student Square where the first optical connections in the country were realized, while other major faculties and institutes were connected at modem speeds of low capacity.

On November 1, 1996, Sezam Pro offered full access to the Internet, which officially included Serbia in the global network of all networks – and the Internet era began in the region.

The first internet café in Serbia – Sezam Cafe

In the mid-1990s, Sezam Pro collaborated with the Academic Network, and at the same time opened the first Internet café in Yugoslavia – Sezam Cafe – a place where technology lovers could gather. Another goal of this Internet café was to make this a place where people who do not have a computer would be able to get acquainted with the possibilities provided by the Internet, contact their friends around the world or collect and transmit information.

Source: Website Sezam pro

Development of playrooms, computer and cultural centers

Although they are not official institutes or factories for the production of computers, playrooms play a significant role in the development of this area. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, computer playrooms were for most people, especially teenagers or video game fans, the only places where they had access to computers and the Internet. That is why, although now almost non-existent, these places are important in the development of Information Technology. People in playrooms acquired their first computer skills, learned how software works, and, most often, how to play games.

In addition to playrooms, it is important to mention the numerous computer centers that existed at universities, but also in high schools and elementary schools. These centers were “meeting places” between young people and the large machines of the time (computers were very cumbersome) where young people were often taught the basics of computer science. Apart from centers in official institutions, informal centers also appeared in the late 1990s. One such was the Rex Cultural Center in Belgrade, which was an important place for different creatives in the 1990s. It was equipped with computers, which could be used by all visitors completely free of charge without any obligation. Rex worked until 2000 when all the equipment was confiscated and when they were evicted. The following year, in 2001, they returned to the premises and recovered most of the equipment, and Rex started working as a cultural center.

Another such center was the Multimedia Center of the Referral Center of the University of Zagreb (MMC), which also offered the possibility of using the computer free of charge every day from 8 am to 8 pm. In addition to these centers, there have been other similar initiatives in cities throughout FRY.

From stagnation to redevelopment of information technology in the early 2000s

In the late 1990s, another war hit FRY, which greatly influenced the renewed stagnation in the field of technology. During the war of ’99, great damage was done when 30 computer centers that could not be moved were destroyed.

Nevertheless, the beginning of 2000 brought a certain kind of progress and stabilization and the development of the information society slowly began. More and more people had access to the Internet, home computers were becoming more accessible, and an increasing number of young people were opting to attend technical faculties and pursue education in the field of Information Technology.

In place of former computer companies, at the beginning of 2000, the main place in the development of the IT industry was occupied by companies for the distribution of computers and computer equipment. Apart from this, there were numerous companies engaged in software development, and by the mid-2010s, a greater push for the development in the field of gaming industry began.

Despite the fact that Yugoslavia was among the leading countries in Europe in computer production fifty years ago, the former federation states, however, did not continue this tradition and the industry in this area did not develop. For years, in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, commercial computers of popular global brands produced by the largest companies in this field have been in use. Today, memories of the great successes of local scientists, engineers and researchers are kept from oblivion in museums throughout the former Yugoslavia.

New tendencies – the first attempt to map the application of digital technologies in art in Croatia from 1968 to 1984

On August 3, 1968, an exhibition of computers and visual research was opened in Zagreb, as the beginning of the international event Tendencies 4 (1968–1969), where digital works of Croatian artists were exhibited for the first time. Among the most prominent names were Vladimir Bonačić, Vlatko Čerić and Vilko Žiljak, who were physicists by profession, Andrija Mutnjaković and Velimir Neidhardt – architects who used digital technologies in architecture and urbanism in the 1960s and 1970s, while Tomislav Mikulić and Miljenko Horvat were among the few who were artistically educated.

The first digital artworks were created, mostly, in institutions, since the first computers were available there, before the personal use of computers began, when they became available at home. This problem was recognized by the organizers of New Tendencies, so the award for the Computers and Visual Research section of the exhibition in 1969 was the possibility for artists to use a computer in Zagreb to create a work of art, as well as the organization and production of the created work. It wasn’t until 1972 that digital technology became available to the general public in the Multimedia Center of the Referral Center of the University of Zagreb (MMC).

Computer Art – the first computer art exhibition in Serbia

Computer Art is probably the first group exhibition of its kind in the region after “New Tendencies”, and was opened in May 1991 at the ULUS Gallery. The exhibition presented works created during the 1980s and everything was set up using the artists’ own equipment. The exhibition featured different approaches to computer technology, live computer music concerts and various events with artists from Slovenia and Serbia. The goal, according to the artist Gordana Novaković, who was one of the organizers of the exhibition, was to present the computer as an artistic tool and medium. Soon the Yugoslav Association of Electronic Media Artists (AUEM) was founded, in which eighteen artists participated. After only a month, the war and breakup of Yugoslavia began and, therefore, the Association never really took off. Most of the founders of AUEM are academics today, including Dr. Miško Suvaković, Professor Čedomir Vasić and Professor Vladan Radovanović, who, through their artistic practice and theory, continued to contribute to the field of computer art.

Miša Savić, The Voice of an Angel (1991)

Miša Savić, The Voice of an Angel, an audio-visual work in the field of computer graphics and sound synthesis, that is, sonification, presented at the Computer Art exhibition as part of the permanent exhibition. As stated in the catalog: “the relationship between image and sound was realized according to the principle that the colors on the frescoes correspond to musical intervals.” The fresco “Angel at the Tomb of Christ” („Beli Anđeo“) was used as a visual template for the initialis.

NET. ART – the development of a new artistic movement

net.art is an art movement that developed in 1994. The distinctive characteristic of this movement was that artists exclusively used the Internet as a medium for creating artistic work and that its production was only possible via the Internet. Some of the pioneers of this artistic practice are the collective Jodi.org, Alexei Shulgin, Olia Lialina, Heath Bunting, Daniel Garcia Andujar, Rachel Baker, as well as the Slovenian artist Vuk Ćosić.

Vuk Ćosić Bang

Ćosić paid special attention to the possibilities of ASCII code (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) and converted images, movies and even sounds into this computer code. He created his own software to convert pixels from stationary and moving images into ASCII, experimenting with both sound and camera movements transcribed through ASCII. In his work, he often used famous pop culture works, such as Warhol’s Campbell Soup, as well as entire scenes from films such as Hitchcock’s Psycho and the cult porn film from 1972, Deep throat, that he reinterpreted through ASCII code.

Vuk Ćosić Psychodada

Vuk Ćosić Raging Bull

Vuk Ćosić War in YU

He also developed his projects within the ASCII Art Ensamble art group together with Walter van der Cruijsen and Luka Frelih. One of the group’s joint projects was a series of videos of selected cult films presented in the ASCII code, which were titled ASCII History of Moving Images.

Today, Ćosić lives in Ljubljana, where he is still active in exploring the intersection of art and technology. He co-founded Ljudmila, an open access digital media lab that aims to connect artists and NGOs with new media and technology. Ljudmila also runs an open source platform for the distribution of free artistic and cultural content.

Rex – the mainstay of digital artists during the 1990s

During the 1990s, the Rex cultural center was an important place for various creatives. It was equipped with computers, which could be used by all visitors completely free of charge without any obligation. Thus began the digital era in this space that saw various fledgling artists create their first works with the help of computers.

The first workshop opus in this space was dubbed the Demo scene. Although having a website was far from common at the time, Rex had its own, where they posted works and news from this course. In October 1998, a digital laboratory was opened in Rex – Cyberex, within which there were various programs, including the more prominent Update and Cyber School programs, which included various courses and short seminars where participants learned how to use certain programs. Within Rex, the group Corrosion stood out, which mainly dealt with audio and video content and held various workshops on the subject and from which the “Kosmoplovci” collective later emerged.

Little and Big Cyber School – Young YU Visual Artists were educational programs organized during the year 2000 as two-week seminars for acquiring basic knowledge of computers, the Internet and creating web presentations for artists, art managers, students of the University of Arts, members of various Non-governmental organizations, as well as short seminars (3-5 days) that enabled those who possess basic knowledge to further improve and actively use and apply new media (e.g. Photoshop, Dreamweaver, HTML, REALaudio, Streaming media, Macromedia Flash, Linux). These seminars had their continuation in the realization of a specific project of the group that attended them.

In 2000, Rex was evicted and all the equipment was confiscated. During that year, all the events existed only online. The following year, in 2001, they returned to the premises and recovered most of the equipment, and Rex started working as a cultural center.

Sociopolitical events largely directed artistic creation in the former Yugoslavia, especially during the 1990s, when the country collapsed. Despite the events at the time and conflicts between member states, the efforts of artists to stand out in their innovativeness and intention to follow technological tendencies and show that the computer can also be used as a medium for creating art are undeniable. By working with computers, artists experimented with algorithms, coding and visualization of data, thus creating a new, unique approach to art, but also a new way of communicating with the audience. In doing so, they paved the way for a later understanding of computer art and its further development.

The creation of music using computers or hybrid forms which combine analog and digital technologies can be studied from many angles, and as such the influence of computers can be seen in the synth genre and numerous performers who were inspired by computers during the 80s. Just some of the examples include the record sleeve the band Data used for their single “Neka Ti Se Dese Prave Stvari/Ne Zovi To Ljubavlju” (May The Right Things Happen To You / Don’t Call it Love) which featured the photograph or a computer, or direct references such as the song “Program tvog kompjutera“ (A Program of Your Computer) by the synth-pop band Denis & Denis. The computer era in Yugoslavia had a significant influence on popular music, so electronic sound synthesizers became increasingly present in pop and rock music, creating an entirely new dimension of rhythm and sound. The band “Bijelo dugme” is one of the most popular bands that experimented with electronic sounds and synthesizers.

What is particularly interesting, however, is the work of certain artists who went one step further while exploring the field of computers and music. They used computer programs and synthesizers to explore new musical possibilities and create complex compositions. Their music was frequently abstract, experimental and based on the exploration of technology. Particularly notable are the artists Vladan Radovanović, Marjan Šijanec and Miroslav Miša Savić, who are some of the pioneers of computer music in former Yugoslavia.

Vladan Radovanović – the creator of the first computer composition in Yugoslavia

Multimedia artist Vladan Radovanović was active in the fields of music, painting, literature, and new media since the end of the 1950s. Radovanović’s interest for the synthesis of arts was central in his creative process and he has authored over 250 theoretical works on music and new tendencies in art.

Vladan created the first computer composition named “Kompjutorija” (Computoria) in Utrecht, in 1976. POD, the audio programming language based on the Poisson distribution, was used for its creation. The composition was created in the following manner: the composer would input a “tendency map” into a computer, and as a result he would get accidental values within a certain range, which he later used to create a final musical flow.

Vladan Radnovanović

Vladan Radnovanović Undina

Radovanović was the Head of the Belgrade Electronic Studio during the 1972-1999 period. He has received numerous awards. During the 2001-2011 period he worked as a visiting professor at the University of Arts in Belgrade (Group for Polymedia art). He was also a member of The Composers’ Association of Serbia and The Association of Fine Artists of Serbia. He passed away at the age of 91.

Marjan Šijanec – Contribution to the further development of computer music

Next to Radovanović, it was the work of Slovenian composer and conductor Marjan Šijanec that left a mark on the second half of the 80s at Radio Belgrade’s Electronic Studio III. Given the number of computing centers in the country, it was logical to expect that some of them would also take part in the exploration of music and sound. One of the few (and quite possibly the only) composer who got the chance to do just that was Šijanec, who studied programming at the Boris Kidrič Institute in Ljubljana and at an Institute in Vinča.

Marjan Šijanec

Paralelni svetovi Marjan Šijanec

In the following decades, Šijanec continued to create music, both in Slovenia and abroad. Šijanec has won numerous awards and his compositions have often been described as postmodernist pieces belonging to the IT era. Today, many consider him one of the pioneers of computer music on the territory of former Yugoslavia.

Miroslav Miša Savić – The beginning of the digital audio manipulation trend

With the increasing use of personal computers during the 80s, and considering the fact that he himself was frequently involved in the creative process at Radio Belgrade’s Electronic Studio III, the composer Miša Savić started including computers in his work. Along with Gordana Novaković and Marjan Šijanec, Savić was a member of the MGM group. Some of Savić’s significant works during the 90s were his collaborations with Gordana Novaković, with whom he performed several collaborative new media productions collectively known as “Košulja srećnog čoveka” (Lucky Man’s Shirt) (1992-1998). Two of Savić’s works were a part of the group exhibition Computer Art (Kompjuterska umetnost) – “Šest pogleda na jedno” (Six Views on The Same Thing) and “Glas anđela” (The Voice of an Angel), which is particularly interesting, as it shows a digitalized depiction of the fresco “Anđeo na grobu Hristovom” (The Angel on The Grave of Christ). With this piece, the artist brings attention to the trend of digital manipulation, which would soon culminate with the inception of the internet.

Miša Savić

Miša Savić, The Voice of an Angel (1991) shown in the group exhibition Computer Art

Savić remained active in the field of multimedia art. He has organized a series of exhibitions, lectures, and festivals, as well as the creation and publishing of records, cassettes, books and catalogues, mostly in relation to minimal music. Since 2009, he has been employed as the professor of computer music at the New Academy of Arts. During the 2003-2020 period, he has taught numerous subjects at the Department of Music Production at the Music School “Kosta Manojlović” in Zemun.

Vladan Radovanović –  Phonoverse (Fonoverzum), album with the composition Kompjutorija

During the festival, Šijanec’s compositions were also performed, notably “Random toccata” (1987), “Flautijada” (Flautiada) (1987), Đorđe Ilijin presented the piece “Metamorfoze” (Metamorphoses) (1987), and one evening of the festival was dedicated to the first Yugoslav computer composition – Kompjutorija by Vladan Radovanović. It is also important to mention the participation of the Belgrade improv group “Institut” formed by the artists Fraparega and Papa Nik (which was not announced in the program), who staged a musical performance with a computer during which they performed music using two joysticks connected to the PC with an installed percussive software and a small duck toy that made digital sounds with its bill as it tried to pick up grass in a plate of water.

Music in Serbia (Muzika u Srbiji) – The last festival dedicated to electroacoustic music

The event Computer Art dedicated to visual and musical use of computers was held between May 8 and 23, 1991 at the ULUS gallery in Belgrade and it was followed by the three-day festival Music in Serbia – Electroacoustic Music (Muzika u Srbiji – elektroakustička muzika) held at the BITEF Theater beginning on May 23.

While some electroacoustic concerts were occasionally held at previous festivals, according to the selector Vladan Radovanović, “the time has come for the first festival entirely devoted to this genre.” The first event was organized by Predrag Šiđanin from Novi Sad and, in addition to the permanent exhibition of visual pieces and installations, the event included premiere concert performances of pieces composed by local artists from Belgrade and Novi Sad. The pieces selected belonged to composers Vladimir Tošić, Slobodan Atanacković, Ludmila Frajt, Miroslav Savić, Arsenije Jovanović, Josip Kalčić, Boris Despot, Dušan Radić, Ivana Stefanović, Milica Paranosić, Zoran Erić, Vladimir Jovanović, Marjan Šijanec, Katarina Miljković, Miloš Petrović, Zoran Hristić and Srđan Hofman, which were performed either by simply playing a recording or by playing a recording in combination with a live performance. The festival Music in Serbia ended after 14 iterations and various changes in finances and organization. The final festival was held in 1991.

“Digital dinosaur” which took up the entire room

During the 1950s, only four countries in the world managed to build their own digital computers. Those countries were England, Germany, France and Russia. Later on, Poland joined this list, but – so did Yugoslavia.

It took four years (1956-1960) to create the pilot lot (as its name suggests) of the first digital computer built in SFRY – CER 10 (Cifarski Elektronski Računar – Digital Electronic Computer), and the concept designer and creator of CER, Tihomir Aleksić, headed a team of 70 people. The development of the computer started at the “Vinča” Institute and continued at the “Mihajlo Pupin” Institute.

However, CER 10 and its successors looked nothing like the computers of today. Picture six 2x2m metal boxes – that’s what CER 10 looked like. The operations of this serial computer were based on a system of transistors and vacuum tubes. At first it was used for statistical processing of encrypted data, and later on for educational purposes. This “digital dinosaur” is now on display in the Belgrade Museum of Science and Technology. At the time CER 10 was created, many held the belief that digital technologies would not be able to surpass analog technologies when it came to the speed of execution of operations. For the sake of comparison, CER 10 was 40.000 times slower than today’s home computers.

CER Teleprinter

Who did it first?

Who was the first to design and build a computer in Yugoslavia? – it is difficult to provide a single answer to this question. However, there are several different computer models that were created around the same time that are worthy of a mention.

When it comes to the “Mihajlo Pupin” Institute, the CER series was replaced by the TIM series, and thus the institute developed the TIM 100 and TIM 600 models, which used microprocessors. Floppy disks were used as external memory devices. However, TIM 600 was not PC compatible, and as such did not find much commercial success.

Fabrika računarskih mašina (Computer Factory) – FRM was founded by 1971, and this is where the first Yugoslav electronic calculator, IE-4000, was manufactured. According to engineer Dušan Senćanski, this was the first Yugoslav minicomputer. FRM then began collaborating with the West German company Kienzle, which resulted in the installation of over 1,500 computers across Yugoslavia for automatic data processing in various business areas.

In 1979, FRM signed a contract with the American company Honeywell Information Systems, and this represents a turning point in the Yugoslav production and use of computers. According to Ivan Nakev in an interview conducted by an unnamed author for the May 1985 issue of the magazine Svet Kompjutera, the result of the EI Honeywell company operations, from its founding to 1985, is the complete installation of over 300 computer systems across Yugoslavia. In the same year, the aforementioned company joined the race to manufacture a domestic school computer. This is how the computer models EI Pecom 32 and EI Pecom 64 were created.

However, the popularity of imported computers in Yugoslavia – ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 – was responsible for the fact that all of the aforementioned models did not last long in the market, and domestically manufactured computers remained in use only in government institutions and schools.

Ad for Commodore 64

Clive Sinclair holding his newly developed ZX Spectrum home computer in 1982

Lola 8

Ivo Lola Ribar Institute

Also notable at the time was the Galeb (Seagull) model produced by PEL Varaždin in Croatia. Miroslav Kocijan, the creator of Galeb, was also responsible for the development of the Orao (Eagle) model which was used in Croatian schools during the 80s. Orao is also the “main culprit” for the fact that only 250 units of Galeb were manufactured, as Orao was more technologically advanced and cheaper to manufacture. The Apple OS compatible computer Ivel Ultra was also manufactured in Ivanić Grad in Croatia.

During the 80s, the IRIS PC 16 computer was manufactured in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it achieved great sales in spite of its high price. The company Energoinvest designed this model thanks to their employees who also worked at the Sarajevo Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

From EL-82 to Galaksija

What EL-82, the first home computer produced in the form of a functional prototype, and “Galaksija” (Galaxy) have in common is their creator – Voja Antonić. EL-82 was manufactured by the company “Elektronika inženjering” from Zemun in early 1982. However, this computer was soon off the market as it was too expensive – namely, it cost around 6,000 Deutsche Marks at the time.

Galaksija set a new precedent, as this model gained immense popularity because Voja published diagrams and instructions necessary to build this home computer in the magazine “Računari u vašoj kući”. Microprocessors, memory units and other integrated circuits could be legally imported by mail, and the production of printed circuit boards (PCB), keyboards and cases was organized in Yugoslavia. According to Dejan Ristanović, the companies “Mipro” and “Elektronika” from Buje, together with “Institut za elektroniku i vakuumsku tehniku (Institute for electronics and vacuum technology) agreed to supply the PCBs, keyboards and masks, “Mikrotehnika” from Graz supplied the chips, while the staff of the “Galaksija” magazine collected the purchase orders, and, as a result, over 8000 people managed to build their own Galaksija computer.

In his book titled The Total History of Video Games (Totalna istorija video-igara), Prof. Manojlo Maravić stated the following: “Technological achievements of the 90s in terms of the spread of the Internet, the multimedia character of computers, consoles, online gaming, polygonal 3D graphics followed by the invention of smartphones will shape the development of new video games at the beginning of the 21st century.”

We are witnessing the omnipresence of the entertainment provided by video games, which are available to us in several ways – they are in the back pocket of our trousers, on our TVs, computers, consoles, in playrooms, etc. While video games have gained immense popularity in all developed countries in the world among users on the “other side” of the device, the development of the video game industry as a whole was not uniform and linear, but rather depended (and still does) to a large extent on various socio-economic circumstances, as well as investments in new technologies and new skills.

In Serbia, the gaming industry began to flourish at the start of the second decade of the 21st century, and now, only ten years later, the Serbian Games Association (SGA) has over 140 members including indie teams, e-sports companies, VFX studios and globally acclaimed game developers, making the gaming industry one of the fastest growing branches of the Serbian economy. As such, our country is nowadays considered to be one of the most compelling “new” countries involved in the video game development.

Notable teams and video games from Serbia

For now, there are three centers in Serbia with the largest number of gaming studios – Novi Sad, Belgrade and Niš.

The Belgrade-based Nordeus company is best known for Top Eleven, an “evergreen” football manager game which was launched on Facebook in 2010. At that time, the matches in Top Eleven were purely text based. 2D graphics were implemented in 2015 as a natural consequence of technological advancement. Top Eleven’s development peaked with the implementation of 3D graphics, as players started sharing 3D clips of their matches on social media every day.

As a large company, Nordeus impacted the development of many other studios and video games to a certain extent. The Tectonic Games Studio (TGS) from Belgrade was informally formed in 2013, but in 2020 they became more serious about game development and began working on their first commercial title SpellTome as a part of the Nordeus booster program.

Alongside Nordeus, Mad Head Games is one of the pioneers when it comes to game development in Serbia. The studio was founded in 2011 and currently has 150 employees in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Sarajevo-based offices. The studio has released 66 games so far, and after becoming a part of the global giant Saber Interactive (a studio that’s a part of the Embracer Group) two years ago, it entirely devoted its attention to the development of action games for PC and consoles. The game Scars Above, a notable Mad Head Games AA project, was shown for the first time on the Prime Matter Twitch channel. It is an adventure game in which the world from Alice in Wonderland collides with the world from Alien.

The Novi Sad-based studio Brave Giant founded by brothers Boris and Bojan Đurović realized their first project in 2012, a game titled Demon Hunter: Chronicles from Beyond. It was a HOPA game based on the horror movie From Beyond. PC gaming was dominant at the time, at least in Serbia, and most new studios looked up to Mad Head Games. Most of the Brave Giant games have been released on all major platforms, including Sony Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Google Play Store.

Although also a relatively young studio, founded in 2018 – the Alset team is comprised of gaming industry professionals – concept artists, 3D model artists, illustrators, designers, and developers which managed to develop their first game from scratch in a year and a half.

Additionally, the Farm it! game developed by Tummy Games from Novi Sad became available on the Apple Arcade platform in 2021, the first game from Serbia to find its way onto this service. Video game enthusiasts will recognize Tummy Games by the titles they developed for some of the most successful global publishers such as Voodoo and Homa Games, as many of these games have reached tens of millions of downloads.

The Niš-based studio Peaksel also published their first notable PC game titled 100 Worlds. It is available on Steam, and 100 Worlds (Android, iOS, Steam) is a room escape game where players have to solve a series of logic puzzles in order to rescue the main heroine from the magic book she is trapped in.

Gaming as a science

After detailed research conducted on the education in the field of digital art and gaming, and two years of design and planning, in 2021 the Belgrade Faculty of Dramatic Arts announced the launch of a new study program – “Visual effects, animation and game art”. Thus, it became the second four-year study program in Serbia dedicated to game development, following the program Video game design available at the Novi Sad Academy of Arts.

The Academy of Arts in Novi Sad was the first to introduce the topic of video games to academia in Serbia in 2017, therefore it is not surprising that the Academy was also the main organizer of the first national conference of video games with international participants. The interest in academic study of gaming has only grown since 2017, and soon the first video game master’s programs (Master 4.0) were formed , one semester long courses organized by the Belgrade University of Arts.

The study programs currently available in Serbia primarily focus on video game development, which is the response to the growing gaming industry in our country currently employing over 2,100 people. What is still missing is the introduction of a platform for critical and theoretical study of video games. This is precisely what the Video Games Studies (SVI) conference – a new, interdisciplinary field of study – tried to accomplish. The conference was held in 2021 in Novi Sad with the goal of providing a platform for further academic study of video games.

There is no doubt – the Serbian gaming industry is developing at an incredible speed, and numerous creative teams from various fields – from storytellers to sound designers and developers – have the opportunity to create different virtual worlds for numerous players to enjoy, all while anticipating new releases.

References:
Kristina Janković, SGA
Totalna istorija video igara, Manojlo Maravić