An Amazing Automated Spray Can Plotter Graffiti Robot

German robotic artist Niklas Roy (previously) created the Graffomat, an amazing automated spray can plotter robot that creates simple graffiti designs onto a wall using an X-Y axis running on a servo motor.

The construction follows a classic XY structure. The X-axis consists of 2 aluminum tubes on which two short PVC electric tubes slide, to which the spray can holder is attached. The can holder is pulled back and forth by a clothesline that runs over two pulleys, one of which is driven by a cordless screwdriver. The nozzle of the spray can is operated by a lever from a model-making servo motor.

The Graffomat can also be used in real-time over the internet.

The real-time control of the plotter via the Internet works via the WebSocket protocol. With this protocol, data can be transferred from the web browser to a web server without having to reload the website. The server can also transfer data back, which is then processed by a JavaScript program integrated into the HTML document.

Roy partnered with Carolina Romano to animate the function of this fun, automated graffiti machine.