Hacks and Mods: DIY Semi-Automatic Paintbrush

Got a new InkShield and planning to make an Open hardware project? Then why not try making the Semi-Automatic Paintbrush. Read on to know more about this.

Any work of art can be copied using this and the components that are required to make this is listed below:

• IR camera
• InkShield
• Ink cartridge
• IR LED

The software that is run on a desktop for this purpose is known as paintbrush.py. The software plays the role of mapping the camera focus with the co-ordinate system of the canvas. Four LEDs are placed at each corner of the canvas and the mapping is calibrated by hitting a key when required.

The region of the image is captured by tracking the motion of the LEDs. The necessary commands are send to an Arduino with the InkShield by means of a script written for this purpose. The script tells the arduino which nozzle to fire and also the gray level which has to be achieved by the firing nozzle. In order to avoid flooding, the painted areas are tracked.

Thats all it is. The paintbrush is complete. This is more of a fun-based project and can be done in some spare time using the components mentioned earlier. The required script is available on github. The InkShield library used by the Arduino is LGPL.

http://www.hackolog.com/2012/05/29/diy-semi-automatic-paintbrush/