Categories
Maker/Development

mDrawBot is the Transformer that took up an art career

Makeblocks give intrepid DIYers a versatile assortment of parts to make whatever kind of robots they can dream up, all in conjunction with components like Raspberry Pi or an Arduino board.

Now, the same team behind Makeblocks has come up with mDrawBot. mDrawBot is a kit of specific Makeblocks used in conjunction with a proprietary Arduino board. Together, they can be used to create a 4-in-1 drawing robot capable of fulfilling whatever artistic impulses one can think up. The product’s hands-on nature may scare off some, but it’s all worth it when one considers that the mDrawBot can be configured into four different forms. The first is the mSpider, which can draw and paint on any vertical surface, and whose string lengths are adjustable to increase its range.

Its second form is the mScara, used to draw on paper with an installed pen, or engrave on material like wood if a laser diode is installed. Its third form is mEggBot, used solely with eggs and other oval-shaped objects similar to eggs. Lastly, its final form is the mCar, used to draw on the floor. The kit’s versatility promises to be extremely useful in a number of varied, albeit specific, situations. Even if the DIY nature of mDrawBot is challenging to some, the product holds a lot of appeal for others.

A standard mDrawBot kit costs $179, and is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux. A May 2015 ship date is dependent of the success of its $50,000 campaign goal which ends on May 28.

 

 

Categories
Arts

Tree-zel mounts your canvas indoors and out

Tree-zelWhich poet was it that said, “I think that I shall never see. A place to mount something on as convenient as a tree.” Thankfully, none. Tree-zel lets you keep your artwork sitting securely in the holder and mounted in a convenient spot while you take that breather. The mount presently has a couple of aliases, Tree-sel and Tree-zle, since it can also be mounted to a tree for outdoor painting. The industrious prototype will likely be appreciated by nature painters and still life artists for being easy to use and having space-saving functionality. For $200, backers get a complete product, with an expected delivery of June 2014.