RobotBox user jbot added a nifty blog post today about using his robot to paint with light. Inspired by images of Roomba’s with LEDs, he added a set of LEDs to his robot, PlexiBot and took some long exposure photos as PlexiBot traveled around. The results are quite beautiful.
Boilerplate, the fictional robot created by artist Paul Guinan, now has a robolicious coffee-table book called Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel. Featuring historic scenes from the 19th and 20th century, we see Boilerplate’s military prowess as he fights along-side military giants like Teddy Roosevelt and Pancho Villa. The book’s “trailer” is hilarious and worth a watch (after the jump.)
Boilerplate was a mechanical man developed by Professor Archibald Campion during the 1880s and unveiled at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.
Built in a small Chicago laboratory, Boilerplate was a prototype soldier for use in resolving the conflicts of nations. Although it was the only such prototype, Boilerplate was eventually able to exercise its proposed function by participating in several combat actions.
Unfortunately Boilerplate was lost to history during WW1 and his final location remains a mystery to this day. According to wikipedia, some speculate he was captured by Germans and used to fuel their mighty technological advances between the wars.
Great alternate history.
BOILERPLATE: History of a Victorian Era Robot.
[Via io9.com]
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Retro Robo Sculpture by Mike Rivamonte
Here’s a great gallery of retro robot art creations. There quite an array of intricate robot sculptures from a variety of artists. The robot pictured above was created by artist Mike Rivamonte. There’s a few more of my favorites after the jump.
What’s your favorite?
Carebot comes fully equipped to take care of your every need – hot meals, fluffying your pillow …Â oh, and fully trained in proctology.
Artist Carl Pisaturo creates some amazing kinetic sculptures. His robotic creation, Slave Zero (video above), is an amazing half-human scale robotic creation with life-like motions which are controlled via an intricate web of cables. Slave Zero uses 21 servos to drive 41 joints and achieves incredibly fluid motion.
[Via Robot Snob]
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“Hey, since the news and historical accounts are so great when they’re crowsourced, how about robots! That’d be a GREAT idea.”
Check out more of Ben’s art here.
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Husbands and kids, at least you have something to look forward to in the future – Hauler MAT and his trash grabbing prowess. See more of Ben’s art here.
Robots are cool. Pictures of robots are cool too. But, custom artwork of people as robots … now that’s very cool. If you agree, then Ben Rollman can help you out by creating a custom piece of fine art depecting you (or your favorite photo) as a robot. Case in point, the photo above depecting my sheer joy at marrying the best woman in the world. For a mere $15 Ben will take any photo you send him and robotify it, and send you the finished 5″x7″ copy and a sweet timelapse video of him drawing it. You can see the video of him drawing my picture after the jump. If 5″x7″ isn’t your style, Ben will do a 8″ x 10″ for only $30 USD. He’s very courteous to work with, finishes the portrait quickly, and ships in a nice protective envelope. For $15/$30 I think it’s a steal.
You can also check out Ben’s Flickr gallery of some of his other robot drawings. I’ve been so impressed, we’ll be posting some of his new artwork here on the site each week.
Chris Grine claims he can draw 3 robots a week for a full year, thereby creating “165 ‘Bots With Stuff“. His whimsical drawings will put a smile on your face and give you a good chuckle.
I especially enjoy #006, “a robot with a warm tender heart” and “a robot with a distinct limp“.
Good work Chris, we’ll be watching to see if you can make it to 165!
So, what’s everyone’s favorite so far?
Want a nifty robot illustration while helping a good cause? Check out the Robots and Monsters Project,
… a charitable art project that matches goodwill and charitable giving with custom-made commissioned cartoon and pop art.
The project, which chooses a new charity to benefit each quarter, allows donors to choose to receive a unique piece of art featuring either a robot or a monster (guess what we’d choose). The project was started by Joe Alterio who also happens to be one of the artists.
You get the original piece of art, 6″ x 6″, signed, of a robot or monster or both (your choice), as defined by three words you provide, like “Green, tenctale, airplane.” or “Tiny, hotdog, blue”. An image of one robot or monster is 50 bucks. Your art will be drawn as per your specifications and mailed in a flat mailer to your address.
For you stingy types, you can check out the gallary of amazing drawings on Flickr. I’ve included some images after the break.
Everyone’s favorite robots+art exhibit, Artbots, has announced it’s exhibitors for this years show, to be held in Dublin, Ireland on July 15-17, 2005.
22 exhibits were chosen which encompass 33 different artists from 10 different countries. You can view a full list of exhibitors here. The projects are definitely worth taking a look at. I found Grower and Curiously Strong
particularly interesting. One is a robot that draws green lines of
varying heights on a wall based on the CO2 levels in the room. The
other one is a long chain of altoids tins who’s lids can be popped open
using a solenoids – the chain pops the lids in a domino-like fashion.
