PIX18 has two components - think of them as a "mind" and a "body". The mind is an Artificial Intelligence software module capable of conceiving of a virtual painting. A virtual painting is a collection of paint strokes in the AI's memory. There can be hundreds, thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands of strokes in any single virtual painting, each stroke comprising a unique color, strength, speed, and brush motion. The physical body of the robot, typically a conventional gantry or articulated arm, then executes the virtual painting onto a canvas or panel. The physical robot typically requires a human to initially load a canvas, a palette of paints (as specified by the AI), and a brush. From then on, the robot runs automatically, picking up paint with the brush, painting on the canvas, mixing paints, and cleaning the brush as needed. A single painting can take up to 48 hours to paint.
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Time-lapse view of a painting
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Once a inspiring image is in hand, the AI attempts to find a collection of strokes that would best represent that image. There are two internal processes that work side by side to accomplish this -- think of them as a creator AI and a critic AI. The creator proposes a painting, and the critic gives positive or negative feedback. Based on the feedback, the creator makes modifications - amplifying certain aspects and attenuating others - and asks for critique again. The creator and the critic can go back and forth hundreds of times per second. Starting from what appears to be almost a random painting and nonsensical feedback, the painting will gradually evolve. Like two amateurs playing chess against each other and improving in the process, the creator and the critic both improve over time, in a process known as "Adversarial Learning". All these iterations happens inside the computer. It can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days on a cloud computer, depending on the complexity and size of the painting, Once the virtual painting is complete, it is handed of to the physical robot to execute.
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