All of us were told off from drawing on the walls as children for a lot of reasons. Maybe it’s because we couldn’t reach high enough for our parents to appreciate our work. Or perhaps they couldn’t see art if it was right in front of their faces. Or it could just be the uncleanable, horrible mess it left afterward.
It’s ironic the Scribit does exactly the same thing we did as kids, only on a slightly elevated level and with a more professional eye for art.
The wall-clinging robot, designed by MIT professor Carlo Ratti, draws virtually any image found online on any surface it’s attached to. Just hang the Scribit by a nail, plug it into an electrical socket, connect it to your laptop or mobile device, and watch it beautifully vandalize whatever smooth surface it’s attached to.
The way the machine draws and erases scribbles on your walls is quite impressive. You can stick up to four different Scribit markers into the machine at once, and it will choose which color is appropriate for your chosen drawing. Scribit will then run along the wall on two side wheels and complete the image while you leave it be and make a sandwich or something.
The erasing process is even cooler… or should I say hotter? Once you’re tired of an old drawing, Scribit erases it via a tiny pod eraser which heats up to 65°C (149 °F) and runs along the areas which were drawn on. Since the drawing is still in the robot’s memory, it merely follows where it has been and evaporates any marker traces, leaving the surface free for another work of art.
You can have Scribit draw images, but you can also let it sketch reminders such as your to-do lists, weather forecasts, and even your Twitter feed. A small LED located over the markers tells you if Scribit is currently drawing, loading a new drawing, or slacking off.
The robot measures 6.6 inches by 3.15 inches and is made up of an aluminum outer shell. This shell protects the rotative shell which changes the markers used and switches the Scribit from standby to writing mode. And those two “ears” on the side? Those are the wheels which move Scribit along the wall as it taps into its artistic side.
Earlier iterations of the Scribit used to look a lot blockier and more like a traditional robot, but with a few design tweaks, it now has the iconic round shape it has today.
Scribit’s crowdfunding campaign was a massive success ($3.7 million raised over an initial goal of $50K) and is now on its way to becoming a fully-developed graffiti robot. You can read more on the project over on the Scribit webpage, Kickstarter, or Indiegogo.
