Does this change everything or what? A group of students at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering have designed a cake-frosting machine that allows users to draw a design in a Paint-like graphical user interface, then marvel as two Arduinos translate their designs into cake frosting.
From Python, the programming sends commands over PySerial to two Arduinos. The first Arduino controls the motion of stepper motors which drive threaded rods to move the cake in the x and y axes. The second Arduino controls a servo which dispenses frosting from a plunger. All of these systems, working in unison, transform a user design on a computer into a beautifully frosted cake.
Coming soon, hopefully: Better accuracy in GUI replication and automatic sensing of the size and shape of cakes placed on the tray. (So basically, magic.)
Published: Jan 14, 2011 09:36 am