Robot Sticks To Its Knitting at Maker Faire UK

Yarncraft
Robot Sticks To Its Knitting at Maker Faire UK

One of my favorite maker exhibits at Maker Faire UK in Newcastle this weekend is by Andy Noyes, a first-time participant in Maker Faire. His knitting animatronic robot, AGNES, doesn’t just go through the motions of knitting. She actually produces a knitted scarf using a circular loom. Andy said he’s just glad she continues to work through the long weekend.

Robotknit poster

Here’s a short video of AGNES in action.

I could watch this captivating robot perform its repetitive sequence over and over. I’m not alone as others gather around for a good look at Roboknit. That she looks up from her knitting now and then is a wonderful gesture, which some find a bit creepy.

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DALE DOUGHERTY is the leading advocate of the Maker Movement. He founded Make: Magazine 2005, which first used the term โ€œmakersโ€ to describe people who enjoyed โ€œhands-onโ€ work and play. He started Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, and this event has spread to nearly 200 locations in 40 countries, with over 1.5M attendees annually. He is President of Make:Community, which produces Make: and Maker Faire.

In 2011 Dougherty was honored at the White House as a โ€œChampion of Changeโ€ through an initiative that honors Americans who are โ€œdoing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.โ€ At the 2014 White House Maker Faire he was introduced by President Obama as an American innovator making significant contributions to the fields of education and business. He believes that the Maker Movement has the potential to transform the educational experience of students and introduce them to the practice of innovation through play and tinkering.

Dougherty is the author of โ€œFree to Make: How the Maker Movement Is Changing our Jobs, Schools and Mindsโ€ with Adriane Conrad. He is co-author of "Maker City: A Practical Guide for Reinventing American Cities" with Peter Hirshberg and Marcia Kadanoff.

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