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

Today marks the beginning of my summer internship here at Deeplocal. I have been hired to assist with various marketing tasks for RouteShout, Chalkbot, and Deeplocal itself. I’m currently a senior journalism and mass communication major at Point Park University scheduled to graduate this upcoming December.

I was unsure of what to expect for my first day at Deeplocal. I didn’t know whether I’d be jumping in head first writing press releases and other promotional material or if I would be performing menial tasks.

Upon entering Deeplocal’s refreshingly modern and minimalist office this morning, I was not assigned to anything marketing-related nor gofer errands. Instead, I was instructed to help Nathan and Chloe with packing up the office in preparation for the move from the sixth floor to the fourth floor.

After a trip in the rain with Chloe and Heather to the Wine & Spirits store for boxes, Chloe and I packed everything from office supplies to Tupperware amidst the sound of various rap mash-ups. In between packing the contents of the shelves and the kitchen cabinets, I read-up on Deeplocal press.

Although I was already familiar with Deeplocal’s innovative work that merges the technological world with real-world experiences, I wasn’t aware of just how far Deeplocal’s projects extended into the global marketplace. I read press from not only Pittsburgh based media outlets but also international news organizations such as CNN that lauded the innovations of Deeplocal.

Despite the fact that I have yet to be actively involved in any Deeplocal marketing endeavors, I’m excited to be a part of such a creative team of people for the summer.

Although we were up against some tough competition at this year’s Webby Awards, our Chalkbot project still managed to take two Webbys, for “Best Integrated Media Plan” and “Online Campaigns.”

So who gives out Webby Awards and why do they matter? The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences select the nominees for both awards in each category, as well as the winners of the Webby Awards. Members of the organization include “musicians Beck and David Bowie, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, political columnist Arianna Huffington, Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser, “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening, R/GA Founder and Chairman Robert Greenberg, Virgin Atlantic Chairman and Founder Richard Branson, and The Weinstein Company Co-Founder Harvey Weinstein. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as The New York Times, Wired, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The Los Angeles Times, Vibe, and WallPaper.”

For Deeplocal, a small studio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this is a pretty amazing group of people to be recognized by. Of course, we had amazing partners in Wieden+Kennedy Portland and Standard Robot Company- truly a collaborative effort that resulted in an industry-changing campaign and the chance to introduce ourselves to the advertising world.

This year we were proud sponsors of the Pittsburgh Marathon. We had the pleasure of meeting Patrice Matamoros last summer and she got us involved as technology/mapping sponsors. Not only was it a pretty cool thing to know that we contributed to the success of this great event, but we also got the VIP treatment, from a party at Enginehouse 25 in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood to a VIP tent at the finish line of the race.

Unfortunately, due to injuries (two stress fractures for me), there weren’t any Deeplocalers participating in the race this, but our good friend, Scott Bricker from BikePgh ran his first half-marathon with an excellent time- way to go Scott!

Nathan often talks about the important role that running has and continues to have in his life. For me, running (or other forms of exercise) makes me feel in control of my life, even if everything else is unpredictable and fast-changing. If I’m having a bad day, I can still go out and have a great run.

With that, we look forward to sponsoring and hopefully also participating in the Dicks Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon again next year!