ofxRobotArm
An Open-Source C++ Library for Creative Robotics
ofxRobotArm is an openFrameworks addon (C++ library) for doing creative things with robot arms. The goal of the addon is to remove many technical barriers that impede non-roboticists from exploring the creative potential of industrial and collaborative robots. The addon includes a number of examples that illustrate many desirable, but difficult ways of controlling and interacting with a robot arm — including direct manipulation, geometry-based manipulation, motion capture-based interactions, and keyframe animation.
ofxRobotArm makes advanced robotic programming more accessible to artists, designers, and architects. For example, an included example file enables real-time, interactive control with motion capture systems.
ofxRobotArm was developed by Madeline Gannon and Dan Moore from 2016-2019, with institutional support from The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University. All code and tutorials for ofxRobotArm is stored in this github repository, although the project is no longer under active development.
Presented At
ofxRobotArm grew out of our Mimus (2016) installation code base, and became a core component of our Manus (2018) installation. The addon was also used by Design I/O for their delightful Mimic installation (2017).
It has been presented at Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS) 2021 Workshop on Robotics x Arts and Open Hardware Europe Summit 2016 (website).
Featured on Creative Applications.