For our final project, we decide to further mimic the pattern drawn by the male pufferfish (as the photo below) using a sand table, magnets and a robot with stepper motors.
What we have achieved in our midterm is a 2D pattern with concessions of both not drawing the exact pattern and not being able to control different depth of the pattern. See the photo below.
The reason why we choose to further discover sand drawing is that the pattern drawn by the pufferfish not only has an aesthetic touch but also exhibits the power of a tiny organism that can create such perfect, grand (2m in diameter), mesmerizing and meaningful art. We want to prove that a 13-centimeter-long pufferfish can draw, a small robot could also accomplish.
The updates to be experimented: 1)Encoder motors controlled by Arduino. 2)Electromagnet/Robotic arm that lifts the magnet up and down. 3)A more decent-looking sand table. 4)The magnet acting like a pufferfish that uses shells for decoration but instead attracts metal.
How the above constructs as a research paper: We would share our experiments of and inquiries into different methodologies to achieve our desired outcome–a more precise and 3D version of the pufferfish’s pattern. As Prof. Rudi brought up, maybe we can exhibit the project as art pieces and receive art critiques to be included in the paper.