Painting Robots
Following a collaboration with the artist Leonel Moura, starting in 2003, IdMind developed a variety of painting robots with different characteristics.
RAP – Robotic Action Painter, 2006
Developed for the Museum of Natural History in New York, this robot is sensitive to the surrounding environment, which interprets accordingly to specialized color sensors. Thus, once it detects a white canvas, the RAP starts with generating random color pigments, drawing something that we could call a sketch of the painting; from that, it starts reacting to the detected colors, developing the painting until it considers finished. Then, it signs the RAP initials and issues a command to change the paper.
Its palette is formed by 6 pens, grouped two by two, and its "strokes", as any artist, are completely free, thanks to its advanced holonomic locomotion system, based on 3 motorized wheels, allowing it to advance instantaneously in any arbitrary direction.
The RAP also has IR distance sensors allowing it to avoid walls in its small exhibition studio.
Links:
TARA – Interactive Robot, 2006
Developed for The Pavilion of Knowledge in Lisbon, this robot has some behavior characteristics similar to RAP. It distinguishes in its aspect, drawing with 4 colors, and possessing a unique feature: the visitors can interact with TARA through an external touch screen, modifying some characteristics of its behavior, as for instance, the sensitivity to color and kind of stroke.
Links:
ISU – Poet Robot, 2007
Prototype of RAP, thus sharing some of the features with it. It distinguishes by its aspect, and draws in 3 colors. Afterward it was re-programmed and nicknamed ISU, exhibiting a unique feature: the capability to compose words.
Links:
ArtSBot – Artistic Swarm Robots, 2004
Each robot has color sensors, to measure the color on the ground he stands on, and two different color markers. According to its program, each robot makes a decision about its locomotion paths (forward, circular, stop and go, etc.) and which marker to use (or none) at any given moment, based on its color readings. The robots are also capable of avoiding other robots, so that no collisions occur on its way through the painting.
Links:
- Project page
- Video with the robots painting (0,98 MB)
RAP installation
TARA installation
Poet Robot ISU
ArtSBot – Robot while painting
Leonel Moura Exhibition