Inspired by 18th-century automatons such as the writer and the draughtsman by Jaquet-Droz, I wanted to create my own drawing automatons. In particular, I am hoping to build more accessible drawing automatons with a focus on enhanced programmability. As a first step, I decided to design a mechansim for drawing scribbly lines.

After some research, I landed on a 4-bar linkage design. I started with prototypes in MotionGen, which gave me a basic idea of the feasibility.

Then I designed the linkages in Fusion 360 and assembled a minimal physical prototype.

That gave me more confidence, which led to a working prototype that actually drew on paper.

In order to achieve some basic programmability, I took inspiration from Spirograph and designed modular components for this mechanism. With different combinations and configurations of the linkages, the mechansim could draw a variety of scribbles.

In addition, I improved the pen holding mechansim, which would secure the pen in place while allowing free rotation at the axle.

For the next step, I am hoping to expand beyond scribbly lines and create more intricate images. For instance, I plan to design modular components that are algorithmically generated for drawing different tiles, which could then be combined to form different patterns.