An artistically inclined robot out of Germany uses special software to decide where to add the next brushstroke. Take a look at some of its surprisingly organic and fluid creations.
Michelle Starr
Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get you as enthralled with the wonders of the universe as she is. When she's not daydreaming about flying through space, she's daydreaming about bats.
Leslie Katz led a team that explored the intersection of tech and culture, plus all manner of awe-inspiring science, from space to AI and archaeology. When she's not smithing words, she's probably playing online word games, tending to her garden or referring to herself in the third person.
Credentials
Third place film critic, 2021 LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
Created by a team at the University of Konstanz in Germany, e-David is a painting robot -- not the kind that spray-paints auto parts, but the far more artistic variety. Here are some of its creations.
2 of 8 University of Konstanz
Abe Lincoln
E-David, a standard robot that has been taught to paint, snaps a picture of what it wants to copy and takes it from there on canvas. It doesn't have to be programmed with directions that tell it how to paint but uses something called "visual optimization" to make its own decisions. After each brushstroke, e-David takes a picture, and its software calculates whether the image needs to be lightened or darkened, and where.
3 of 8 University of Konstanz
Matterhorn
As an artist with diverse interests, the robot e-David paints landscapes in addition to portraits. Here's its image of the famed Matterhorn on the border between Switzerland and Italy.
4 of 8 University of Konstanz
Holding hands
While E-David isn't the first robot painter we've met, the images it produces look strikingly organic and fluid. E-David can use five different brushes and choose color from a repository of 24 shades.
5 of 8 University of Konstanz
E-David does Doomer
This is E-David the robot's take on Rembrandt's 1640 portrait of Amsterdam ebony worker Herman Doomer, who made fine cabinets and chests.
6 of 8 University of Konstanz
George Clooney
E-David is not above the celebrity portrait, as demonstrated by its drawing of actor George Clooney.
7 of 8 University of Konstanz
Joschka Fischer
The artistic robot E-David, created in Germany, painted this portrait of German politician Joschka Fischer, who served as foreign minister and vice chancellor from 1998 to 2005.
8 of 8 University of Konstanz
Roar
Another nature image by E-David, a painting robot created by a team at the University of Konstanz in Germany. It's fascinating to observe the delicate accuracy with which E-David paints, ponders its brushstrokes, and returns for more paint.
