Eszter Karpati - Assembled: Transform Everyday Objects Into Robots!

TRANSFORM EVERYDAY OBJECTS INTO ROBOTS!

WHY AND HOW

For many of us, going to flea markets has something of a magical quality; we are drawn to the atmosphere, we like to go regularly, we browse around it always feels as though we are on the hunt for something specific but we dont quite know what that particular thing looks like. And that thing could be anything an enamel strainer, a silver cigarette case, an old postcard we just dont know until we see it, so we carry on looking for it until we find it.

The pleasure is clearly as much in the searching as it is in the finding. For me, it might take a handful of visits to a flea market or my favourite second-hand (thrift) stores before I finally spot that perfect object I did not know I needed that beautiful faded green turn-of-the-century chocolate tin up until this point in my life, but now that I have found it, I just have to have it.

Random flea-market finds, old spatulas, rusty forks and spoons really, anything could be a potential robot ingredient. Cutlery is particularly good for creating arms and legs; you can even bend the tines of a fork individually to allow your robot to gesticulate.

This love of the flea market experience is often where the robot-making journey begins. All of the wonderful things you come across on the market stalls suddenly gain a reason for being and a fully legitimised excuse for buying; you are now moving beyond what might be seen as self-indulgent junk collecting, and are starting to work towards the noble pursuit of assembling your own robot. And once you have found that all-important key ingredient, the rest will follow naturally. It may take a while to find the perfect companion parts to the essence of your robot but, again, the joy is in the search, and you will doubtless find things that could form parts of other robots along the way. It can be tricky to source matching objects for arms, legs, hands or eyes, for example but it can add charm to use mismatched items. Alternatively, consider dismantling or splitting parts in two to achieve symmetry.

Tool boxes and workshops might house some real gems for your robot projects have a good look around and see if you can spot any bits and pieces that spark your imagination. Use a cardboard box to gather together all the parts that you like the look and feel of.

Assembling the robots in this book is not unlike following a recipe so we decided to model the style of the projects loosely on recipes in a cookbook. As each of the robot projects is made of found objects, the ingredients relate to each specific bot recipe but you can easily substitute other found objects made of the same or similar materials. Whats so wonderful about making a robot is that the end result will always be completely unique in the specific parts used, their age, style and colouring, and the bonding and assembly techniques employed; all of which contribute to their own distinct characters and personalities. No two robots are ever the same.

Eszter Karpati
Editor

Always look out for ingredients that could be useful for your robot project. Old bikes and tin boxes can make very beautiful bot parts; over time, the paint tends to chip off and they develop a patina which will add plenty of charm and character to your final piece.

BEFORE AND AFTER