Disney made a beach robot that draws large-scale art into the sand

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Relaxing at the beach can be great, but who has time for all that frolicking in the sand? We already have robotsthat can do the jobs of many people, but what happens when they take over leisure for us too? Disney research has partnered with engineers at ETH Zurich to create the Beachbot, a robot that can trundle around in the sand and construct vast designs without human interaction.

The Beachbot is without a doubt one of the more adorable robots ever created. Even if you’re unreasonably terrified about robots stealing human jobs or taking over the world, this little tri-wheeled robot with the turtle theme will roll right into your heart on its inflatable balloon wheels. Those wheels are actually designed so the Beachbot can roll around while sketching out designs without destroying its own work. There’s no tread as there might be on a regular tire because that would disturb the sand. As such, the weight of the robot needed to be kept to a minimum so it doesn’t get stuck.

Engineers used a thin but durable aluminum chassis sealed with rubber gaskets to prevent sand from infiltrating the internal machinery. The artistic action takes place at the back of the Beachbot, which is where the mechanized rake is mounted. It has seven points that can be raised and lowered independently by a series of servos. This allows the robot to vary the thickness of the lines it leaves in the sand. It’s an efficient little robot, but it’s the brains behind the shell that make it special.

How can you map out a path for an autonomous robot so it knows where it is in the design? GPS isn’t accurate enough, and sand shifts and deforms quickly, so you can’t use topographical landmarks. When operators want to turn Beachbot loose on a design, they can simply set up four poles in the sand with reflective markers. These act as sign posts for the robot, which it detects with a top-mounted laser scanner. That’s the black cylinder on top of the bot’s shell. Inside is an inertial measurement unit that tells Beachbot where it has been. Put those together, and you have a very accurate location system for a robot.

Beachbot can be programmed to create a certain design, or set to free draw mode inside a particular area mapped out by the reflective posts. Not only is the final product beautiful, but the process of making it is a show of its own. It’s not every day you see turtle robots making sand art.

This is the sort of thing that Disney might use for promotion or in future robotic technologies in its parks. However, the real value of the Beachbot research is in robotic pathfinding. In this case, it was applied to sand art, but the process of making a machine aware of where it is and how to get to a different location without being directly controlled every step of the way is important. It has potential applications in search and rescue, self-driving cars, and home automation.

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