Robotor One is a robotic sculptor that can carve marble sculptures over 4 meters tall, with the artistic quality necessary to be displayed in a museum or a square.
Robotor is also the name of the Italian company associated with Carrara marble, the same used by Michelangelo for his sculptures, and the most appreciated in the world.
In collaboration with sculptors, Robotor has created a robotic sculptor capable of carving a marble statue ready to be delivered to a museum, without human intervention. This can be seen in the opening video of the news, where it carves the famous Terpsichore by Antonio Canova.
The sculptor robot working for museums The most significant aspect of Robotor One is its autonomy. After a 3D scan of the original statue, the robot carves it in marble without any programming or input of parameters. The OR-OS software is capable of directly processing the 3D scan and creating an exact replica.
The marble replica of Terpsichore, which we can see in the video, 1.77 meters tall, was ready in less than a week, while it would take months for a human sculptor. It is already installed in the Museum of Vetulonia.
Nowadays, almost everyone has a 3D printer. We know that they print in layers and the finishing usually can be significantly improved. Typically, the object needs sanding or removal of edges, and it is not detailed enough to end up in a museum.
Robotor One works in a very different way, as it does not print, but actually sculpts in the same way as a human sculptor. It carves the marble until it extracts the figure from a block of stone. The creators, Filippo Tincolini and Giacomo Massari, do not intend to take work away from human artists. Their goal with Robotor One is to help spread art and preserve it, through the use of replicas that can be installed in museums, schools, or on the street.
Robotor One is the first generation of a saga of sculptor robots that is already capable of making perfect replicas of any marble sculpture, maintaining the details and finish of the original artist. This adds fuel to the eternal debate: Is it art if it's made by a robot?
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