We use robots to

MAKE ART

In May of 2025, we were contacted by Midway Contemporary Art to build a robotics project for an art exhibit by Yuki Kimura—an artist from Kyoto, Japan. We eagerly took up the offer, excited to fill our summer with more robotics.

Meet the Team

  • Yuki Kimura

    ARTIST

  • John Rasmussen

    DIRECTOR

  • Kelsey Olson

    PROGRAMMING MANAGER

  • Ben Lampe-McCoy

    FACULTY ADVISOR

  • Caleb L. ('26)

    PROGRAMMER

  • Jackson G. ('28)

    CAD DESIGN

  • Calvin M. ('28)

    PROGRAMMER

  • Amelia D. ('28)

    CAMERA DESIGN

The Problem

Midway approached us, asking if we would be able to build robots that carried large plastic globes on them. They would have to last 6 hours on battery for the exhibit and be somewhat aware of their surroundings. The robots would move very slowly as part of the art.

Design Requirements

  • Last 3 hours on battery with hotswappable battery OR last 6 hours

  • Move very slowly (1 cm/sec ish)

  • All 13 robots must be less expensive than $5000 total

  • Have relatively small footprint

  • Avoid people and obstacles in the gallery

  • Stay within gallery space

  • Avoid tipping over

  • Easy interface to choreograph/plan movements of globes

  • Centralized management of globes

Kimura was inspired when she saw this globe at Ax-man surplus.

The gallery consists of one large room with an overhang and a set of I-beams.

Our Solution

Our robots have a 3d printed chassis and battery mount to hold all the hardware. We chose slow, high gear-reduction motors to drive the robot, a large sealed-lead acid battery, and an ESP-32 for the core components. The robot is also equipped with distance sensors and a color sensor to avoid obstacles and walls. Cameras are mounted around the gallery to detect the globes using machine learning and AI, which help determine the robots’ position.

Exhibit

September 12 to November 1

Midway Contemporary Art
1509 NE Marshall St
Minneapolis, MN 55413

HOURS

Opening Night (Sept 12): 6 pm – 8 pm

Regular Hours: Wed – Sat, 11am – 5pm

Let’s work together

Interested in working together on a small-medium scope robotics project? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly! We can't wait to hear from you!