New Atlas

Robotics Audio available

Robot taught to copy handwriting and sketches

Ben Coxworth May 17, 2019

Imagine if you were working with a robot that could leave you written messages, or draw diagrams to explain concepts. Such a scenario has come a step closer to reality, as a university student has taught a robot how to copy what we write, and what we draw.

The robot's version of a Mona Lisa sketch, beneath the hand-drawn original

Good Thinking Audio available

Elegant Iris drawing tool runs rings around other compasses

Matt Kennedy May 8, 2019

A London-based design team has combined a love of engineering, drawing and cameras to create one of the most elegant tools for drawing circles seen to date. Dubbed "Iris," this ingenious compass is part objet d’art, part engineering wonder, and part Spirograph for grown-ups.

The Iris, shown with its wooden base, alongside Makers Cabinet's first Kickstarter project, the Høvel

Good Thinking

Powered pen has a jack-hammer tip

Ben Coxworth February 12, 2019

In a process similar to the pointillism style of painting, some pen-and-ink artists create drawings consisting of tiny dots and dashes. Belgian startup Dozendots has set out to make doing so easier, with its power-tipped Inki ballpoint pen.

The Inki pen's tip moves up and down at a rate of 700 movements per minute

Around The Home

da Vinci-inspired drawing machine brings Renaissance auto-sketching to life

Paul Ridden November 14, 2018

Paper engineer Robert Sabuda has teamed up with the Leonardo da Vinci Robot Society to create the Drawmaton drawing machine that's based on a rumor, that da Vinci's so-called Robot Knight coudl not only sit, stand and hug guests at parties, but could also draw.

The Drawmaton comes in kit form to assemble yourself, and is hand operated

Science

Oldest-known drawing found in South African cave

Michael Irving September 12, 2018

Archaeologists have uncovered what may be the oldest human-made drawings ever found. Discovered in a cave in South Africa, the cross-hatch pattern was drawn in red ochre and found to date back over 70,000 years, making the image more than 30,000 years older than the previous reigning champion.

The drawing, made up of six vertical lines cross-hatched by three horizontal ones, is 73,000 years ...

3D Printing

3Doodler takes classroom creativity to another dimension

Paul Ridden May 1, 2018

As we discovered for ourselves during CES 2014, raising objects up from a flat surface using a 3D printing pen is not as easy as seasoned 3Doodlers make it look. Clearly, the earlier you start, the better. So WobbleWorks has launched educational creativity kits designed for use in schools.

Students 14 years and above getting creative with a Create+ EDU Learning Pack

Robotics

Scribit robot could soon be drawing on your walls

Ben Coxworth April 3, 2018

A couple of years ago, design firm Carlo Ratti Associati showcased a system in which drones were used to draw images on walls. It was very clever, but perhaps not something that could become a commercial product. The company's Scribit wall-drawing robot, however, is intended to be just that.

Scribit will be the subject of an upcoming crowdfunding campaign

Computers

Google's Autodraw AI instantly converts your doodles to clip art

Rich Haridy April 11, 2017

Google’s AI Experiments has been slowly dropping fascinating artistic or creative uses of its neural network code for some time now. The latest innovation from the program is Autodraw, a sketch-pad with a neural network that predicts what you are trying to draw and offers clip art alternatives.

Google's Autodraw is a free web-based app that uses machine learning to identify what you're trying ...

Good Thinking

Lizard-inspired pens change ink color as you draw

Ben Coxworth January 18, 2017

The Chameleon Pen is an art pen, the ink color tone of which changes as you draw. Its makers are now back with Chameleon Pens Color Tops, that change between two completely different colors.

Computers

Digital art Canvas the main draw in Dell's CES lineup

Michael Irving January 5, 2017

At CES this week, Dell unveiled a few nifty ideas, including the Canvas digital artist's workstation, a 32-inch monitor bursting with 8K resolution, a wirelessly chargeable 2-in-1, and a refresh of the company's other laptops, AIOs and monitors.

Dell has unveiled a new lineup of devices at CES this week, including a digital artist's ...