Not only can robots play chess and football, but they can now create works of art too. The robot Vincent stands ready to draw portraits of visitors on the second floor of the museum.
Subjects don’t have to pose for hours, as the portrait takes a maximum of ten minutes to complete. The robot starts by taking four photos, of which the visitor is asked to select one. Vincent then uses a paper and pencil to draw an individual image with rapid strokes.
Robots as street artists
Like any street artist, he is happy for people to gaze over his shoulder as he works. Although the technical aspect of this artistic endeavour is evident, the “artistic side” of the robot will still fascinate visitors, who are welcome to take the results of his work home with them.
Vincent is based on a standard industrial robot used for sorting and packaging tasks in particular. The robot has been specially adapted and re-programmed for use at the HNF – by no means a simple task. Software also had to be created to convert the visitor’s colour photo into a drawing.