Researchers have programmed a palm-sized quadcopter* to create ink portraits using the stippling* technique, which requires the precise application of thousands of small dots.

    As the work continues, the researchers say drones could one day be used for much larger applications, helping artists to paint murals in hard-to-reach outdoor areas and on irregular surfaces.

    According to the team from McGill University, small drones have so far been used to create a number of dotwork portraits of numerous figures.

    To do this, they equipped a small quadcopter with a miniature* arm, and developed complex algorithms* to plot its flight plan. Then, the drone is fitted with a small ink-soaked sponge at the end of its arm.

    For each portrait, the drone uses just a minimal amount of ink, and must approach the wall and hit it multiple times to apply each dot.

    “It takes a couple of seconds per stipple because the robot is being controlled automatically,” explains Paul Kry, associate professor at McGill University School of Computer Science. “There’s a motion capture system which is watching these little retroflective markers and can know exactly where the robot is in space to send commands.”(SD-Agencies)