I built four eight-foot-long handwriting robots
Hardware
pen plotter robot
SHOW HN2021
Legend
I built four eight-foot-long handwriting robots
Four eight-foot-long handwriting robots
twitter.com#handwriting robot#pen plotter#axidraw#handwritten mail#property tax protest
How HN took it
9 positive, 28 neutral or asking, 5 mixed, 29 critical, out of 71 comments about the project. Thread score -0.27.
Idea: 2 for, 23 againstExecution: 4 for, 3 againstDesign: 0 for, 1 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Technically impressive build
From 3 comments
Really impressive and fun to build I'm sure. I bought an Axidraw last year to play around with making fake signatures of fake people and as well we were getting a ton of Etsy…
CosmicShadow on HNI feel like this person is a genius.
aerovistae on HNThis really should be a Best Of HN post. Great work!
sitkack on HN
Useful pen alignment and jig design
From 1 comment
Over the past few months, we've been playing with the Axidraw to bootstrap a handwritten card service, so I loved reading about the way you solved some similar problems –…
iambateman on HN
Objections
Fake personalization is deceptive and amoral
From 3 comments
Though this is technically impressive, the continued pretending of "personalization" is pretty disgusting to me. Why not just be explicit that it's automated? Because people…
endisneigh on HNAnother week, another impressive technological display of amoral mass-douchebaggery. Even most crimes require a lot of work and many a fair amount of technical prowess, but at…
PedroBatista on HNIf I didn’t know better I would think this is a parody of morally bankrupt technologists. But it’s not a parody, it’s an obscene reality. - They have constructed a (rather…
haikurion on HN
Handwriting is too consistent and easy to spot as computer generated
From 2 comments
I live in Austin TX and got one of the mailers last year. I was wondering how you pulled it off. The handwriting on the outside does make it look personal but, once you open it,…
joshuaellinger on HNI'm still surprised how often I get still direct mail with something "handwritten" on it, where it's obviously not, because every same letter looks the same. This seems like a…
sverhagen on HN
Pressure and stroke variation are missing
From 2 comments
I guess this might be for future iterations... But.. aren't variations in inclination, pressure and stroke (direction and order of strokes) super important for handwriting? How…
Keyframe on HNYes you are absolutely correct! That's the biggest flaw in this system IMO. And I don't think it's fixable without a fundamental redesign. The pressure is controlled by a…
aarondf on HN
Requests
Add pressure and stroke variation
From 1 comment
I guess this might be for future iterations... But.. aren't variations in inclination, pressure and stroke (direction and order of strokes) super important for handwriting? How…
Keyframe on HN
Automate jig placement with self-locating features
From 1 comment
Instead of using a vacuum to directly place a sheet of paper, instead automate the placement of jigs. Design the jigs with self-locating features so they can be placed by a…
jjk166 on HN
Questions
Why build this and does it hurt response rates
From 2 comments
Does he mention why he's building this? I understand that handwritten letters might receive a bit more attention, but doesn't it come across as unprofessional? It would for me -…
phgn on HNI live in Austin TX and got one of the mailers last year. I was wondering how you pulled it off. The handwriting on the outside does make it look personal but, once you open it,…
joshuaellinger on HN
How the letters were sent and how conversions were measured
From 2 comments
What were the letters for? Were conversion rates significantly better than typed letters?
ipsum2 on HNIn Texas, the county puts a value on your house that then determines how much you pay in taxes. Usually they just kinda eyeball it. The homeowner is allowed to protest and say…
aarondf on HN
Alternatives named
Handwrytten, Scribeless, RoboQuill, HandwrittenMail, LetterFriend
From 2 comments
> Are people more likely to read your mail if it has a handwritten envelope? That is the theory! > My question would: Isn't it faster to just have some people write the addresses…
aarondf on HN> In other words, a bit of a race to the bottom. Copied from another comment, but this is what I got from ~10 seconds googling. • https://www.handwrytten.com/ •…
aarondf on HN
Autopen AF, MAXWriter, RealPen
From 1 comment
The Autopen AF is a commercial product for this.[1] There's also MAXWriter and RealPen. All have paper feeders, so they can turn out page after page, unattended. In China, some…
Animats on HN