The City=Gallery Street Art Festival in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic, featured a unique collaboration between ABB, Škoda Auto, City=Gallery, and PPG. ABB, a leading manufacturer of automotive assembly equipment and EV chargers, combined robotics with artificial intelligence to create a large-scale mural live at the festival. The AI-designed mural was created using ABB’s painting machine, the IRB 5500, which is typically used for automotive painting. However, for this project, it was equipped with PixelPaint technology, which uses 1000 individually controlled nozzles to precisely paint the design onto a wall.
The public played a significant role in shaping the mural’s style, design, mood, and themes through an online vote. Škoda Design translated the results, and the AI tools generated a final piece. The ABB robot then brought the design to life, painting the mural on the wall of the Pastelka Art School. The PixelPaint technology allowed for intricate patterns to be applied in a single pass without masking, making it ideal for transforming the AI-generated image into a large-scale mural.
The partnership between ABB, Škoda Auto, City=Gallery, and PPG demonstrated how technology can respond to people’s creative ideas and bring them to life in an interactive and inspiring way. The City=Gallery Street Art Festival aims to turn the city into an open gallery, featuring large-scale murals and interactive workshops. The festival’s collaboration with ABB and PPG helped to showcase how technology can be used to create public art that is both visually striking and durable.
The IRB 5500 robot is typically used for both interior and exterior automotive painting, but its capabilities extend beyond the automotive industry. The PixelPaint technology, originally developed for the automotive industry, can apply technical and intricate patterns in a single pass without masking. PPG adapted its coating system for the mural to meet the specific demands of street art, using a fast-drying primer and a durable topcoat to protect the artwork against UV rays and varying environment conditions. The collaboration between ABB, Škoda Auto, City=Gallery, and PPG resulted in a unique and innovative piece of public art that showcased the potential of robotics and artificial intelligence in creative fields.