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Step 6Conclusion
It was important to me that I turn the Create into something I would really, honestly use on a regular basis. A robot that can get a can of soda from the fridge is awesome, but I drink one can a day at most, and I usually grab it on my way to do something else. Even if I had made a robot that would do that I really wouldn't use it.
I've been a full time artist/designer for years, and anyone who's done that knows how difficult and lonely it can be. That's why artists hang out at galleries, movie theaters and bars. You need to get out of your own head and think about different things. That's part of what has been so fun about working with the robot - it is fairly unpredictable (and the amount of unpredictability can be changed in it's code) and it generates imagery that I never would have. It does some of the heavy lifting for me, but I still get to make decisions. I've gotten into the habit of working with it, and I really use it a lot.
Here are my plans for future experiments with the robot and some ideas I'd love to see other people work on:
- LOGO and fractals are practically best friends. There's a lot of potential in fractal paintings if you get more involved with LOGO. Fractals can be similar in structure to trees, coral, and other organic forms, leaving the door open to making a field of unique but related trees, and possibly even adding to the painting yourself to create a landscape.
- Collaborating on paintings with the robot in general could be a lot of fun. Let the robot paint, then paint yourself, then let the robot paint again. I did a lot of this with real humans in art school, but it would probably be more fun with a robot. They aren't concerned with preserving your work, and will paint with reckless abandon.
- Writing a program that runs on the Command Module that causes the robot to run on a certain path would have some benefits. It could be used to try the same idea in different colors and mediums. It could be used as the basis for a whole series of paintings that would each be handled differently after that. It could even be used for graffiti.
- Graffiti in general would be an option with the robot. It could paint on streets or sidewalks. Use this at your own discretion and be responsible. Or just have it hold chalk instead of paint and go to town with it. It could draw arrows directing people to something. It could write messages. In theory, it could even be used to paint the edges of parking spaces. That would be especially useful for temporary markings.
- Attaching a servo motor to the brush holder would give you the option to stop and start painting wherever you choose. This was outside my experience level to figure out in the time I had, but I'd really like to try it in the future.
- The platform was built with the option of adding more colors of paint/brushes at the same time in mind. It would be possible to add a second deck to it, which would support more funnels.
Basically, after 2 months or so of working on this I feel like I'm still just starting, and I'm spending as much time with it as possible.
This robot and I will be at Maker Faire in Austin if you want to get up close and personal with it! Hopefully by then I'll have made even more progress with it!
I've been a full time artist/designer for years, and anyone who's done that knows how difficult and lonely it can be. That's why artists hang out at galleries, movie theaters and bars. You need to get out of your own head and think about different things. That's part of what has been so fun about working with the robot - it is fairly unpredictable (and the amount of unpredictability can be changed in it's code) and it generates imagery that I never would have. It does some of the heavy lifting for me, but I still get to make decisions. I've gotten into the habit of working with it, and I really use it a lot.
Here are my plans for future experiments with the robot and some ideas I'd love to see other people work on:
- LOGO and fractals are practically best friends. There's a lot of potential in fractal paintings if you get more involved with LOGO. Fractals can be similar in structure to trees, coral, and other organic forms, leaving the door open to making a field of unique but related trees, and possibly even adding to the painting yourself to create a landscape.
- Collaborating on paintings with the robot in general could be a lot of fun. Let the robot paint, then paint yourself, then let the robot paint again. I did a lot of this with real humans in art school, but it would probably be more fun with a robot. They aren't concerned with preserving your work, and will paint with reckless abandon.
- Writing a program that runs on the Command Module that causes the robot to run on a certain path would have some benefits. It could be used to try the same idea in different colors and mediums. It could be used as the basis for a whole series of paintings that would each be handled differently after that. It could even be used for graffiti.
- Graffiti in general would be an option with the robot. It could paint on streets or sidewalks. Use this at your own discretion and be responsible. Or just have it hold chalk instead of paint and go to town with it. It could draw arrows directing people to something. It could write messages. In theory, it could even be used to paint the edges of parking spaces. That would be especially useful for temporary markings.
- Attaching a servo motor to the brush holder would give you the option to stop and start painting wherever you choose. This was outside my experience level to figure out in the time I had, but I'd really like to try it in the future.
- The platform was built with the option of adding more colors of paint/brushes at the same time in mind. It would be possible to add a second deck to it, which would support more funnels.
Basically, after 2 months or so of working on this I feel like I'm still just starting, and I'm spending as much time with it as possible.
This robot and I will be at Maker Faire in Austin if you want to get up close and personal with it! Hopefully by then I'll have made even more progress with it!
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Sep 10, 2007. 10:19 AMsabbott
says:
Amazing! I feel encouraged by this that I could actually do something with one of these robot platforms. It felt beyond my ability, but your comments are very encouraging. I love that you want it to paint more like a person would do -- it's interesting to even think this through.
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38
Sep 10, 2007. 10:24 AM
technoplastique (author)
says:
technoplastique (author)
says:
Yay! That's totally what I wanted to do - it seems like this sort of thing is so far out of an 'ordinary person's' grasp, but I had no idea what I was doing and dived in. I would definitely recommend giving it a try!
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