Eye-changing mechanism makes this automaton very expressive

Here is another amazing automaton that came by way of master automaton maker, Thomas Kuntz. The last three posts were some of his recent contributions to The Automata / Automaton Group on Facebook. Check out the eye action on this automaton. Simply amazing! It adds so much to the expressiveness of the character.

[ Thanks to Thomas Kuntz! ]

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Wooden robot figure with changing facial expressions

Here's another creation by the extremely clever artist Osamu Kanda. The piece is titled Face. The body of the robot-like figure has a cube inside on which a small face is depicted.

When button on the front of the machine is pushed, a hidden motor causes the the robot to spin on its pedestal. Upon making a full revolution, we find that the face on the cube has changed expression! The figure has three different expressions in all. If you watch all the way to the end of the video, you'll get a small hint as to how this magic is accomplished.

See more pictures of Osamu Kanda's piece Face on his web site.

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Monster Head Study No. 5 - A Nasty Little Devil!

Has it been since last November that I last shared with you one of my little monster head studies? Wow. For a some background, here is where you can catch up on my posts about Monster Head Study No. 1, Monster Head Study No. 2, Monster Head Study No. 3, and Monster Head Study No. 4. This one is No. 5.

As with the all of the wooden monster heads thus far, this one started out as a 1 inch diameter hardwood ball. These come in packs of 12. Though they have no knots, they are very hard and difficult carve with hand tools. As with Monster Head No. 4, much of this one was shaped by holding it against a 1 inch stationary belt sander. Mine is an old homemade tool, but it's basically like the one shown below (but not quite as nice). It's amazing how much "carving" I do on this machine.

Once again, the head is a sphere. Two of flat planes form the nose and eye areas. The mouth was also shaped on the sander by using the edge of the sanding belt to notch into the wooden ball. I like the downward turn of the lower part of his mouth. I think it makes him look like he may be saying something unfriendly.

The eyes are a little different on this one. I found a package of assorted wooden beads and selected a dark spherical one about 3/8" in diameter. Using an Xacto Razor Saw, I somehow cut slices off of opposite sides where the hole is located. I then cut angled pieces off the top of each one to give they eyes that angry look. The bead slices were then glued on either side of the nose.

I cut a tiny wooden wheel in half and those became the ears for the monster. They are like these wooden wheels, but even smaller -- only about 1/2" in diameter. The ends of a 10" bamboo skewers became the horns. These pieces were glued into holes drilled into the top of the head.

Of the five monsters presented so far, I like this one best. He looks like a nasty little devil, but still has a whimsical quality. He'd be fun to watch from a distance, but you wouldn't want him running loose in your house. I like the proportion and placement of the horns. I also like bulging, dark eyes. And, those tiny wooden wheels make surprisingly good ears!

That's all for now. There are many more monster head studies to come so stay tuned.

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SketRobo drawing automaton can see & draw you!

Magician Brad Henderson from Austin Texas recently spotted this soon-to-be released toy automaton. The SketRobo is a small robot capable of drawing with pen and paper. OK...so we've seen automata that have been doing this for hundreds of years. What makes the SketRobo different is that it can change what it draws based on what it can see at any given moment.

One model draws images stored in memory. Another model has an on-board camera and facial recognition technology allowing it to draw portraits on the spot. Now that is a new twist on this old theme! The SketRobo should be available in the fall of 2012 -- retailing for around $60 for the no-camera version and about $100 for the one with the camera. It's being marketed as a way to teach kids how to draw, but I think we will see it put to many creative uses.

It is a remarkable coincidence that a drawing automaton product should follow so closely behind the release of the film Hugo, which featured just such a machine. It seems we are as fascinated today by the idea of a drawing machine as they were 200 years ago when audiences first saw Maillardet's drawing automaton. I wonder what he would have thought about the facial recognition technology?

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Sampling of various automata from Cecilia Schiller

Here's a nice assemblage of automata and woodcarving by Cecilia Schiller. There are some clever designs in there!

See more mechanical sculpture by Cecilia Schiller on her web site.

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Monkey Man in Pieces automaton assembly

Here's an eye-grabbing automaton by Cecilia Schiller. There is a nice little video montage of the piece being assembled. There are some really neat artistic details in this one. Enjoy!

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Under the Influence - kinetic piece by Brett Dickins

Take a look at this crazy wall-mounted mechanical wooden sculpture by Brett Dickins!

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