Machine Painting / Paintbot 5000
INSPIRATION
Symbiotic Art Manifesto
[Making the Artists that make the Art]
1) Machines can make art
2) Man and machines can make symbiotic art
3) Symbiotic art is a new paradigm that opens an entire unexploited field in art
Leonel Moura
http://www.lxxl.pt/artsbot/index.html
INTRODUCTION
This was a collaborative project undertaken by a group of four Victoria University students - Ankit Patel, Kelly Chessman, Emile Mutch, and Stephen Tyson. The Paint Bot 5000 is an exploration into the abstract forms that robotics can create and how robotics can be utilized in the technical world we live in today.
The Paint Bot 5000 is a robotic painting machine which reacts to data collected through a live camera feed in real time. The device consists of spray paint cans which are controlled via solenoids and placed on a remote control car.
CONCEPT
Paintings are representations or perceptions of a person, space or event. The premise of the Paint Bot 5000 was to look at how a computer can interrupt data and turn it into a physical output. We were interested in creating an automated art form based on video data collected from within the space. We explored relationship between the human and the computer; how they can both come together to create art.
The intention for the Paint Bot 5000 is to be an installation in a gallery space. Over the span of exhibition the robot will create a painting that will then also be exhibited as a representation of how the robot recorded its viewers over the period of time.
HARDWARE
The Paint Bot 5000 was based on a remote control car that was adapted and connected to an arduino board to be able to be controlled through software. Spray cans with solenoid valves are used to control the spraying of paint. The signal for the robot to paint is sent wirelessly from the software (Max MSP) when a certain colour is picked up. The robot is powered from 6 AA batteries, the controls are powered by 1 9V battery and the Arduino board is plugged into the computer to send and receive data to the controls.
IMPLEMENTATION
The software alternates the motion of the robot between forward and reverse every half second. It moves at a span of about 1m every second. The left and right motion is also alternated to keep the robot moving around the space. When a certain colour is picked up through the camera feed a signal is sent for the paint to spray. The solenoid valves attached to the spray cans keep the liquid pressurised inside the can, when a signal is sent this causes the valve to open, allowing the compressed paint to spray out.
RESULTS
The resulting output of the Paint Bot 5000 is a 3m x 2.5m canvas painting showing the representation of the robot’s interaction with the people within the space.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Doug Easterly, Dan DeWaal and Michael for technical support (Victroia University of Wellington).
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