Page 187 - Hacking Roomba

168 Part II — Fun Things to Do

Can Robots Create Art?

The question as to whether or not robots (or computers in general) can make art comes up now
and again. It is usually answered negatively against works of generative art: pieces that are gen-
erated, sometimes randomly, from an initial set of equations and heuristics. One could argue
that humans make art through rules (equations) of perspective and color and use their past
experiences (heuristics) as a basis for their choices. So really the question becomes one of degree.
Both humans and computers/robots can make art; just the rule sets used by one are simpler.
Also, a piece of art isn’t purely the creation of the artist, it is embedded in the context of its
environment and relies on observers to examine and appreciate it. Everyday objects, in the right
context and with the right viewers, have become art.
Another way to consider the question is that for every computer program there is an author.
Even if the program incorporates randomness, the amount of randomness is chosen by the
author. Some generative art is based on evolutionary principles. In this case there may be
no author, per se, and the resulting output may not be aesthetically interesting to humans.
But the act of creating such art leads to discussion, which may be a point in and of itself.

The way this book approaches the question is based on a common accessible aesthetic: Does
it look cool? Computers excel at mathematical equations; robots are how computers interact
with the physical world. Programming the computer to run through variations of interesting
equations and have the robot attempt to act out those equations can lead to some interesting
images. Are these art? Try some of the techniques in this chapter, look at them, show them to
your friends, and judge for yourself.
There are several online galleries of and sites about generative/robot/AI art. Besides the
Processing gallery (http://processing.org/exhibition/), Dataisnature is a news site
(http://dataisnature.com/) showing upcoming generative art. Bogdan Soban’s site
(www.soban-art.com/) has some nice works and provides interesting essays and links about
generative art. Of course, fractal math, the mathematical poster child for chaos theory, can result
in beautiful images. The Infinite Fractal Loop webring (www.fractalus.com/ifl/) is a col-
lection of websites with good fractal art. A really interesting example of robotic art is AARON, a
set of artificial intelligence programs driving a large-format custom plotter to create paintings of
people. AARON has been crafted by Harold Cohen over a period of 30 years. Its work is a com-
mon discussion point about who exactly is the author of the resulting works: the programmer or
the program. A gallery of AARON’s work and a downloadable program containing AARON’s
algorithms can be found at www.kurzweilcyberart.com/aaron/static.html.

Parts and Tools

In addition to the same basic RoombaComm setup as before, you’ll need to stop by the craft
store and the hardware store to pick up a few things. These supplies fall into two categories:
things to draw on and things to draw with.

Several colors of markers, non-toxic and washable preferred, like Crayola markers
Sidewalk chalk