carlo ratti’s scribit is a writing robot that turns any surface into a drawing canvas

carlo ratti associati has developed an intelligent writing robot that can draw and erase images on any vertical surface, from whiteboards to glass or plaster, transforming it into a screen where drawings, messages or feeds can be projected. scribit is the result of a long investigation of writing machines developed at CRA, including drone graffiti ‘artists’ and the façade of the future food district at milan’s world expo 2015.

update: on january 1, 2019, after a multi-million dollar crowdfunding campaign – with over $2,350,000 raised – scribit has been presented at CES 2019 in las vegas, where it will be on display until january 11th.

all renderings by gary di silvio and giacomo mangia

‘do we really want to add more screens to our lives?’ says carlo ratti, ‘scribit offers up an alternative: a robotic system that draws on any kind of vertical surface, following a primordial act performed by humanity since our first cave graffiti.” with in-built engines, scribit can be installed in less than five minutes and can safely draw, cancel and re-draw new images infinitely, offering the possibility of printing a new drawing on your wall every day.

scribit’s interactive software allows for real-time reproduction of any kind of data while users can use material from online sources since it is always connected to the web. with a circular, aluminum shape, the drawing robot comes with four markers of different colors at its center and will premiere during this year’s salone del mobile in the framework CRA’s ‘living nature’ pavilion. a subsequent crowd funding campaign will launch on 5 june 2018.

project info:

CRA-carlo ratti associati in collaboration with makr shakr
design team: carlo ratti, giovanni de niederhausern, emanuele rossetti, alessandra savio, luca giacolini
scribit team: andrea bulgarelli (project manager), andrea baldereschi, pietro leoni
consultants: hotblackrobotics srl (software consultancy), dario trimarchi (electronics hardware consultancy), folder (brand identity)