Meet Itto, Ando, and Kuma – what robots can do

We’ve started a robot workshop to learn how to operate and use creatively the 3 robot arms that the department has. For now, meet Itto.

The first session was meant for us to familiarise ourselves with how they operate, potential, and limitations. Itto is our smallest robot so we tried instructing him to draw some simple lines/shapes. It was easy enough to get it going with the script, but the tool we used to hold the pen caused a lot of grief when we tried drawing circles (the pen would wobble and get stuck because it didn’t have enough support) and later on, because the drawing surface wasn’t completely flat, we had issues drawing straight lines that cover the entire surface of the page.  Although it was eventful, the session gave us an idea of what the potential drawbacks are and, more importantly, motivated us to improve on the original design by putting together a makeshift pen holder that will now develop into a better tool for the robot.

Hello, Itto: