Retired Cleaning Robot Turned Into Abstract Expressionist Painter

Craft & Design Robotics
Retired Cleaning Robot Turned Into Abstract Expressionist Painter

mrHead_5

Japanese artist and engineer “HYde JII” has turned an iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner into a pretty impressive abstract expressionist painter. The robot, named Mr. Head (“Head-kun” in Japanese), a 15 year old Roomba, has retired his janitorial vacuum cleaner and taken up the arts.

mrHead_4

Four plastic bottles hold acrylic paints while an Arduino-controlled tube and value system spatter paint on a canvas with programmed amounts and at set intervals as the robot runs through its usual random-wander routine. Mr. Head still uses the original Roomba recharging station to take a break when the rigors of expressionism start wearing him down.

HYde JII portrays himself as little more than Mr. Head’s spokesman:

I am in charge of supporting Head-kun’s artistic activities, his promotional campaigns, and taking care of him in his daily life. As an artist, Head-kun will be working vigorously, so please put in a good word for him.

And he obviously wants to see Mr. Head gain recognition as a real artist:

Our biggest objective is to let the world know about Head-kun’s artwork. If you think he’s interesting, it would be nice for you to share that with your friends and family. We want to provide him with a chance to share his work.

We think he’s interesting. So we’re sharing.

mrHead_2

The paintings are for sale. There are two to date (that we know of), seen here. Spring Worm Hole (2014) is the salmon-colored piece, Spring Starburst (2015), the pink and yellow canvas. You can message Mr. Head’s agent (er… HYde JII again) on his website to find out more. I know I for one would be proud to have one of these lovely Mr. Head pieces in my home.

mrHead_1

YouTube player

Thanks to my Facebook friend, Amy Morse, for the link.

2 thoughts on “Retired Cleaning Robot Turned Into Abstract Expressionist Painter

  1. Andy III says:

    Now the robots are stealing all of our doctor’s office art jobs!!! No!

  2. MaryKSpring says:

    …..All time hit the makezine Find Here

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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

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