For the past year, Chalkbot has received some pretty awesome recognition. You’ve probably read all about how Chalkbot worked- it was a tweet-fed, chalk-spraying robot that printed messages of hope and inspiration for the Livestrong foundation on the course of last year’s Tour de France. You’ve seen the videos of the robot in action. But you may not know much about the technology that made Chalkbot work.
The Chalkbot was built in seven weeks by an artist-led team of engineers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The overall project was a collaboration between Deeplocal, Wieden + Kennedy Portland, and Standard Robot Co. Testing was done in Deeplocal CEO, Nathan’s back alley, as well as a testing facility near Carnegie Mellon University, appropriately called “Robot City.” I’ve had the pleasure of assisting in getting Chalkbot ready to print each morning at the Tour de France, sacrificing my toothbrush to scrub its paint nozzles, directing traffic for French drivers (despite speaking no French), and capturing heartfelt messages and moments after printing. Now, we’d like to give you a sneak peak at some of the technology that was used and the testing that was done during the building of the Chalkbot.
Pneumatics Allowed Chalkbot to Paint
Chalkbot’s Machine Control Code
Printing Test Sprays
Testing the Chalkbot in Robot City