Michelangelo: A 3-DOF Sketching Robot

Ravi Sankar Ippili, Uttam Granhi, Dr! "!#! Ra$t, Dr! R!#! Mittal
Mechanical %ngineering Gro$p
"irla In&tit$te o' (echnolog) an Science *"I(S+ -,ilani
,ilani, Ra-a&than, I.DIA
ravi!&ankar!ippili/gmail!com, $ttam!granhi/gmail!com, ro$t/bit&-pilani!ac!in, rkm/bit&-pilani!ac!in
Abstract This paper presents an indigenously developed
artbot capable of drawing complex images. The innovativeness
lies in the capacity to draw images with multiple gray values.
The robot possesses a tool magazine that holds pencils of
varying shades of gray. The controller chooses the type of
pencil based on the intensity levels of each gray pixel.
Geometric transformations like scaling and rotation can be
performed on the image before drawing. To enhance the
characteristics of the image available image processing
algorithms are used. A GU is developed with minimal buttons
to enable easy interaction with the robot. The simple yet
efficient software and hardware design makes it a uni!ue
sketching robot.
I! I.(RODU0(IO.
Art &$rro$n& $& ever)1here! It ha& become &o
inevitable that even technical 'iel& 1ere al&o in'l$ence b)
it! Robotic& i& a 'iel that clearl) &igni'ie& &$ch an e''ect!
Gro1ing intere&t to keep robot& a& &o$rce& o' entertainment
re&$lte in a ne1 'iel o' robotic&, 2artbot&3! Robot& that can
imitate h$man& in the tr$e &en&e o' an arti&t have al1a)&
been a 'a&cination to all age gro$p&!
D$ring the la&t ecae, vario$& moel& o' &ketching
robot& have been evelope that can ra1 pict$re&! (he)
'$nction &imilar to a printer that print& &e4$entiall) line b)
line an hence, lack the e5terit) o' a h$man arti&t! (he&e
moel& al&o 'ail to em$late a &cene acc$ratel) a& a 'i5e en
e''ector, $&$all) a pencil or a pen, i& $&e to repre&ent
vario$& gra) level& in an image! Sketching Robot& that have
been evelope recentl) lack the portabilit) an &implicit)
678, 698, 6:8! (he&e robot& &ketch portrait& onl) 1ith a &ingle
color! (hi& motivate $& to evelop a robot 1hich i&
compact in &i;e, $&er 'rienl) an a &o$rce o' entertainment!
<e have al&o incorporate m$lti &hae& o' gra) in o$r
moel! F$rther, the gra''iti o$tp$t evice 6=8 that ha& been
evelope 'or &ketching involve& the $&e o' ink, 1hich ha&
an inconvenience o' r)ing the portrait once it i& ra1n!
(hi& &$gge&te $& to $&e pencil& an th$& enabling the $&er
to acce&& the ra1n 'ig$re immeiatel)!
In thi& paper, 1e pre&ent the e&ign o' a 3-DOF
&ketching robot that &ketche& the pict$re b) $&ing a novel
conto$r e5traction algorithm an a tool maga;ine that can
hol pencil& o' var)ing arkne&& to repre&ent m$ltiple gra)
level& in the image! (he behavior o' the robot re&emble& that
o' an arti&t, 1ho 1o$l, 'ir&t, anal);e the ob-ect, an then,
ra1 the image on a piece o' paper! (he application r$n& in
real-time an i& interactive! It $&e& e5i&ting tool& 'or image
proce&&ing, robot control an ob-ect manip$lation!
Sketching comple5 ob-ect& re4$ire& h$man-&peci'ic &kill&,
an i& th$& a challenge 'or robot&!
(he re&t o' the paper i& organi;e a& 'ollo1&: Section II
pre&ent& the &)&tem &et-$p an the tool& $&e! Section III
pre&ent& the &trateg) $&e to reali;e h$man-like ra1ing o'
image&! Section I> i&c$&&e& the image ac4$i&ition, image
conver&ion, image preproce&&ing, thre&hol etermination,
image binari;ation an inver&e kinematic&! Section >
i&c$&&e& the re&$lt& an &ho1& the po&&ible e5ten&ion& o'
the &)&tem!
II! %?,%RIM%.(A@ S%(-U,
A. Overview
(he 3-DOF moel o' the &ketching robot i& mae 1ith
the $&e o' = &ervo act$ator& *RO"O(IS A?-7A+! A-DOF are
$&e to &1eep the area on the paper! (he other 7-DOF i&
$&e to implement pen-$p an pen-o1n &tate&! (he
act$ator& have tor4$e-bearing capacit) o' 7A kg'!cm at B >
an 7:!9 kg'!cm at 7C >! (he holing bracket& 1ere moele
$&ing PRO-E an 1ere man$'act$re 1ith '$&e epo&ition
moeling machine! (he algorithm& e5tract conto$r& 'rom the
image $&ing &ome ege etection techni4$e& evelope b)
0ann) 638! (he en-e''ector i& e4$ippe 1ith a maga;ine
1ith a ma5im$m capacit) o' = pencil& to portra) vario$&
gra) level val$e& in the image! (he act$ator& are connecte
in a ai&) chain mechani&m an inter'ace thro$gh a US"
port 1ith the comp$ter! (he Graphical U&er Inter'ace 1a&
evelope $&ing Visual Basic! (he in&tr$ction packet& 1ere
con&tr$cte b) the controller an &ent to the act$ator& 'or
e5ec$tion!
Fig$re 7: ,hotograph o' the Michelangelo evelope &ho1ing the maga;ine
1ith 'o$r pencil&
III! S(RA(%GD
(he &ketcher trace& the conto$r o' a given image b)
-oining all the &cattere ot& 1ith pen-$p an pen-o1n
&tate&! Depening on the e&ire range o' the &ketcher a
EReachable <ork Space *R<S+F ha& been 'i5e! R<S i& the
area bet1een t1o &emi circle& obtaine b) the e5treme
con'ig$ration& o' the &ketcher! In the arm, 7-DOF i& $&e 'or
pen $p an pen o1n, 1hile the other DOF are $&e to
traver&e a plane! (he robot i& controlle b) an algorithm
evelope that optimi;e& the total i&tance travele b) the
en e''ector, th$& accompli&hing the ta&k in minim$m time!
(he image to be proce&&e i& loae thro$gh a GUI an
converte to a e&ire 'ormat $&ing the inb$ilt '$nction& o'
MA(@A"! Inver&e #inematic& i& implemente 'or the A-
DOF planar arm to 'in the -oint parameter&! Since a A-DOF
manip$lator can reach an) point on a plane in t1o i''erent
arm orientation&, a proce$re ha& been evi&e to choo&e
&$itable an 'ea&ible orientation! U&ing the po&ition& an
&pee& o' all the act$ator& in&tr$ction packet& are con&tr$cte
b) the &o't1are! (he&e in&tr$ction& packet& are &ent to the
act$ator& connecte in ai&) chain thro$gh US" inter'ace, to
ra1 the image
Fig$re A: Reachable <ork Space o' Michelangelo
I>! DA(A ,RO0%SSI.G
A. Image Acquisition
(hi& i& the 'ir&t an the 'oremo&t &tep 1hich 'orm& the
ba&i& 'or the remaining pha&e& o' ata proce&&ing! <e have
$&e a 00D ba&e image &en&or 'or image ac4$i&ition! (he
rea&on 1e have cho&en 00D &en&or& over 0MOS &en&or& i&
their abilit) to create high 4$alit), lo1 noi&e image&! (he
pict$re o' e&ire ob-ect i& taken b) placing it in 'ront o' the
image &en&or! (he lighting conition& are maintaine &ame
'or all the pict$re& taken to provie &imilar ambience in the
&cene!
B. Image Conversion
(he image ac4$ire in previo$& &tep i& tran&'orme to a
e&ire 'ormat to per'orm vario$& operation& on it! (he
image i& initiall) in G,%G 'ormat! It i& converte to ,GM
*,ortable Gra) Map+ 'ormat $&ing image proce&&ing tool
bo5 inb$ilt in MATLAB! (he inb$ilt '$nction $&e to
achieve thi& i& rg!gra". (he '$nction convert& RG"
image& to gra)&cale b) eliminating the h$e an &at$ration
in'ormation 1hile retaining the l$minance! For each pi5el in
the image the l$minance val$e H A99 ,!!! 7 , C I L ! (he
l$minance val$e& C an A99 corre&pon to black an 1hite
color& re&pectivel)!
C. Image Pre#rocessing
(he igital image ac4$ire i& prone to a variet) o' t)pe&
o' noi&e! (here are &everal 1a)& that noi&e can be
intro$ce into an image, epening on ho1 the image i&
create! <e have implemente &ome o' the noi&e re$ction
algorithm& provie in the Image proce&&ing toolbo5!
One o' the mo&t common t)pe& o' noi&e, Salt an ,epper
noi&e, t)picall) &een on image&, repre&ent& it&el' a& ranoml)
occ$rring 1hite an black pi5el&! An e''ective noi&e
re$ction metho 'or thi& t)pe o' noi&e involve& the $&e o'
meian 'ilter! Meian 'ilter i& applie $&ing me$%ilt! '$nction
o' the toolbo5! (he '$nction per'orm& t1o imen&ional
meian 'iltering! Meian 'iltering, $nlike linear 'iltering,
be&ie& removing noi&e it al&o pre&erve& ege& o' the image,
th$& mani'e&ting it&el' a& an e''ective image enhancement
'ilter!
&. &etermination o% T'res'ol$
(he thre&hol 'or the proce&&e image i& etermine
$&ing gra) level hi&togram& an inb$ilt '$nction& o'
MA(@A"! (he inb$ilt '$nction gra"t'res' comp$te& the
global thre&hol o' the image $&ing Ot&$3& metho 6A8! (he
image retain& all the important characteri&tic& an ha& an
e&thetic look! "e&ie& thi& techni4$e, vario$& gra) level
hi&togram& 1ere plotte to etermine the thre&hol ba&e on
the 're4$enc) &catter o' the gra) val$e&!
E. Image Binari(ation
For each pi5el in the image, the l$minance
H A99 ,!!!! 7 , C I L i& tran&'orme to either C or 7! (he
algorithm convert& the image to a binar) repre&entation that
can be ra1n b) the robot $&ing pencil& on 1hite paper! (he
thre&hol etermine in the previo$& &tep i& $&e to achieve
thi&!
). Inverse *inematics
Inver&e kinematic& algorithm& 1ere r$n to comp$te -oint
angle parameter& 'rom the 0arte&ian coorinate& o' the A
DOF planar RR arm con'ig$ration! %ver) point on
the R<S can be reache b) the en e''ector in t1o i''erent
arm orientation&! (aking into con&ieration vario$&
mechanical con&traint& a&&ociate 1ith the manip$lator, a
R<S
R%>O@U(%
GOI.(S
@I.#S
ARM A
ARM7
partic$lar arm orientation 1a& cho&en! Some o' the
important e4$ation& $&e in the evelopment o' inver&e
kinematic& mo$le are a& 'ollo1&:
*7+
*A+
*3+
<here,
, are the ab&ci&&a an the orinate o' a point in R<S,
i& the ab&ol$te i&tance o' 'rom the origin,
are the link parameter& o' the manip$lator, an
are the -oint parameter& o' the manip$lator!
Fig$re 3: J$man Face! Image& ra1n 1ith ecrea&ing gra) &cale val$e&! a+,
b+, c+ corre&pon to gra) level& ACC, 7AK an C re&pectivel)! +, e+, '+ are the
corre&poning image& ra1n 1ith J", =" an :" pencil&!
>! R%SU@(S, DIS0USSIO. A.D FUR(J%R <OR#
Some re&$lt& are pre&ente in Fig! 3 an =, 1hich are &can
o' &ketche& ra1n b) Michelangelo! Sketching contin$o$&
line ra1ing image& *Fig 3!+ i& not an ea&) ta&k, even 'or
h$man&! Jere, the robot per'orm& thi& ta&k &kill'$ll)! ")
planning a &mooth tra-ector), controlling the &pee an
acceleration o' the arm, the manip$lator e'tl) &ketche& the
image!
A& 1e &ee 'rom the te&t 'ig$re& *Fig! =!+, line& are not
&mooth an &traight! It i& mainl) $e to error& in the moel
o' the robot $&e $ring the inver&e-kinematic& proce&&!
More &peci'icall), the po&ition o' the pencil i& &$ppo&e to
be 'i5e, b$t thi& can al&o &lightl) change $ring the
ra1ing! %rror& are al&o intro$ce in the &et-$p *e!g! i' the
link& are not properl) clampe!+!
%ach &tep o' the 1hole proce&& can be monitore an
controlle vi&$all), an parameter& can be change online,
i' e&ire! Jo1ever, the application i& create to r$n
1itho$t the intervention o' the $&er! (he 1hole proce&& i&
'a&t: the image proce&&ing part an inver&e kinematic& take
onl) a 'e1 &econ&, an the ra1ing take& le&& than 7C
min$te&! A &imilar portrait &ketche b) a h$man 1o$l
clearl) take more time to ra1!
In '$rther 1ork, 1e plan to a more interactive
behavior& to the robot! %!g! the robot ma) a&k the $&er
1hether heL&he 1o$l like to have &ome more per&onali;e
aition be mae to the ra1ing! <e are in the proce&& o'
incorporating &tereo&copic vi&ion &)&tem, 1hich co$l be
$&e to implement rob$&t ob-ect tracking!
(he proce&& o' tran&'orming the image in a lac+ , w'ite
repre&entation co$l be improve in man) 1a)&! For
in&tance, in thre&holing proce&&, other criteria &$ch a& a
soli$it" mea&$re co$l be con&iere, to better i&ting$i&h
the ob-ect 'eat$re&! -oli$it" i& a mea&$re o' a &$r'ace ivie
b) the conve5 &$r'ace &$rro$ning the gro$p o' pi5el&! It
co$l, then, be po&&ible to etect i' m$ltiple 'eat$re& are
merge together, re&$lting in non-conve5 area&!
Fig$re =: (e&t Fig$re&! Image& ra1n b) the robot range 'rom &imple
geometrie& *.+ to mei$m *!/ an$ comple5 'ig$re&*0 ,12/!
a+ b+ c+
+ e+ '+



7 A
3 =
(A"@% I! 0OM,ARISIO. "%(<%%. DIFF%R%.( (%S( FIGUR%S
mage mage "omplexity Time Taken #min.$
0ircle @o1 C!::
0ar Mei$m =
J$man 'ace Mei$m :
D$ck Jigh B
>I! 0O.0@USIO.
(hi& paper pre&ente a &imple reali;ation o' a robot
capable o' &ketching comple5 ob-ect&! <e have $&e novel
metho& to reali;e a &ketch 1ith m$ltiple gra) &hae& an
evelope a l$ci $&er inter'ace to re$ce $n1ante $&er
inter'erence! (he contrib$tion o' thi& 1ork to art robot& i&
t1o-'ol: 'ir&t, it emon&trate& ho1 image proce&&ing
techni4$e& an cla&&ical inver&e kinematic& algorithm& can
be t$ne to eno1 an artbot 1ith h$man-like competencie&M
&econ, it highlight& the potential o' &ketching robot& a&
&o$rce o' entertainment!
R%F%R%.0%S
678 S)lvain 0alinon, G$lien %pine) an A$e "illar, EA h$manoi robot
ra1ing h$man portrait&N, %,F@, S1it;erlan
6A8 Ot&$, .!, NA (hre&hol Selection Metho 'rom Gra)-@evel
Ji&togram&,N I%%% (ran&action& on S)&tem&, Man, an 0)bernetic&,
>ol! O, .o! 7, 7OBO, pp! :A-::
638 G! 0ann), EA comp$tational approach to ege etection,F IEEE
Trans.Pattern Anal"sis an$ Mac'ine Intelligence, vol! K, no! :, pp!
:BOP:OK, 7OK:!
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