Apr. 8, 2015 | By Simon
Ever since they became successfully funded to the tune of $25,031 on Kickstarter in March of 2014, the Robot Army team consisting of creators Sarah Petkus and Mark Koch have been showing no signs of slowing down their progress for further developing their interactive hive of miniature delta robots made from 3D printed parts.
Currently working under then name Light Play, Petkus and Koch are currently developing the latest iteration their kinetic army of delta robots for the upcoming Bay Area Maker Faire May 16th and 17th in San Mateo, California.
Petkus, a project designer and self-described “propaganda master” is responsible for the concept and producing the physical aspects of the installation while Koch, an electronics engineer, is responsible for tying all of the technical logistics together including circuit design and code writing.
The talented duo showed off the first iteration of their Light Play robot army at last year’s Bay Area Maker Faire which featured an installation of 30 delta robots that mimicked the physical gestures of people in attendance in unison. While the end result was most certainly impressive, Petkus wanted the next iteration to not only have more robots - but also allow the robots to each move independently.
“Imagine, if each delta robot were a blade of grass in a field, and you’re movements were the wind,” said Petkus in a blog post.
“Every hop, skip and wiggle you made would send ripples of complex rolling patterns through the field as a response. That’s the end goal, and very much Mark’s (Koch’s) department.”
This year the team is working hard to assemble their 3D printer parts into 84 individual robots that will make up Light Play - an impressive 54 more units than last year although a tad shy of their goal of 1,000 (next year?).
Along with the addition of more individual robots, the team has also upgraded the design of the robots to include redesigned honeycomb-shaped pods that are designed to be more durable and aesthetically-pleasing. Among other new design changes, the hexagonal honeycomb ‘pods’ are made from black ABS plastic that will mostly disappear in a dark environment - effectively making the robots appear more independent.
Finally, the modular nature of the base designs for the robots will allow them to fit in whatever space they’re showing the robots in - an often-overlooked aspect when it comes to presenting projects at large events such as Maker Faire.
As for how the robots will connect to each other, they are networked with the DMX lighting protocol. Koch has been busy designing a new GUI in Netbeans to simulate and visualize their behavior and is currently working on the best type of sensor for capturing input. Last year, the team used an Xbox Kinect, however it didn’t work as intended. This year, the team wants to have better control their ‘flock’ and have it respond to a larger environment.
“For people walking up and observing, it won’t be immediately apparent whether or not the robots are reacting to them,” said Petkus.
“This will fuel engagement and hopefully allow us more zen time to detach and enjoy the rest of the show.”
With less than six weeks left until show time, the team is busy wrapping up their final assemblies. If one thing is for certain, it’s that Petkus and Koch have certainly come up with one of the friendliest 3D printed robot armies - if not the only 3D printed army of robots - that we’ve seen.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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