Piccolo the tiny CNC-bot from diatom studio on Vimeo.

Yes, machines can draw, and, unsurprisingly, they do so quite well. The problem, as with all nascent material technologies, is the size of these plotters, which renders them impractical and quite expensive, setting you back a few thousand dollars. That is, until now (dun dun dun). Piccolo, the tiny CNC-bot, is the world’s only plotter that can fit in your pocket and, available for only $70, it’s the cheapest one at that. Designed by diatom studio, Piccolo provides an open-source platform for digital fabrication at a small, even bite-size scale. The little bot is made of laser-cut plastic pieces, which are quick and easy to assemble, and is powered by an Arduino board that allows users to tinker with and explore a wealth of drawing possibilities only limited by your programming know-how. For those less fluent in geek, Piccolo has access to Arduino and Processing libraries from which you can learn how to customize your little bot, making it move and draw autonomously or react to environmental conditions. We imagine you using Piccolo to make the world’s smallest canvas art or even synchronizing a micro-army of bots to create larger works. Piccolo’s hand is a bit shaky, but that doesn’t stop it from drawing better than you.

by Samuel Medina

posted in Uncategorized

tagged arduino, cnc, drawing, programming

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