ARTWORK

CLACK is an autonomous percussive robot that uses wooden mallets to strike the floor. Imagined as a swarm of creatures whose bodies become an instrument, CLACK is programmed in the BASIC language with 8x solenoid circuits controlling 8x bodies using the parallel port. A bank of 8x relays amplify the digital logic to activate electric solenoids. The central box was conceived as a shared thought center, consisting of a modified PC case in clear acrylic plastic with multiple layers for power, pc-board, and motion control. Each robot body, designed in clear acrylic and wood, uses an electric solenoid to active a spherical wooden striker. The robots parts are hand tightened; thus as they strike the floor they eventually shake themselves to pieces giving each a different personality as it degrades. CLACK was part of my Creatures MFA series in robotic sculpture.