Assistive spray painting device for a tetraplegic artist.
Overview
In collaboration with renowned street artist KATSU, I developed a mouth-controlled spray painting device to assist quadriplegic artist Benny Diar. Diar is an established Bay Area graffiti artist who has been restricted to painting with a paintbrush attached to a stick and needs assistance from an aide to complete his graffiti writings. This process is time-consuming and painful on his neck. Our lightweight, carbon-fiber and 3D-printed PLA mouth sprayer lets Diar cover more canvas space, fill letters faster, and create art with less neck strain. This project is ongoing as I explore more solutions with wide-angle sprayers, longer rods, and quick color exchangers that will expand Diar's painting abilities.
Roles
Client / Creative Collective
Benny Diar & KATSU
Collaborators
Featured Photos
Research
The initial prototype featured a button inside a mouthguard that activated a servo to spray paint when bitten. However, biting and chewing proved uncomfortable for prolonged use, leading me to adopt a joystick-controlled system. Despite his limited arm articulation, this solution leverages Diar's ability to nudge the joystick with slight arm movements, allowing for easier and more precise spray activation. We developed two mounting systems to address the physical strain: a mouth-mounted version and a chair-mounted version. The chair-mounted system significantly reduced the weight on the user's neck, improving comfort and usability during extended painting sessions. Another challenge involved the spray paint itself. MTN-branded spray paint offered a consistent flow through our tubing system compared to competing Montana-branded paint, which frequently clogged and sputtered, even when the tubing was thoroughly cleaned. These differences in chemical formulations required careful testing to ensure reliability and performance in the final design.
'Oh, you can paint! You could do it with your mouth?' It felt like some weird, grade-school arts-and-crafts time [crap]. I was just kind of negative [because] I was paralyzed for a couple of months [then]. But then the next time I just tried it on a piece of paper with some old paints with this mouth stick thing. The rest was history. Once I was able to [paint again], I was like 'Well, oh [crap].'
Invalid video URL
Invalid video URL
Future Expansion
As I continue collaborating with Diar, we are developing new variations and enhancements to the Spitfire prototypes. One focus is creating a more efficient solution for preventing clogs and paint mixing. Currently, the tubing requires thorough flushing with acetone after each use or color change. To streamline this process, KATSU designed a 3D-printed clamp to maintain consistent pressure within the tubing. Additionally, I am engineering a hot-swap mechanism that will allow Diar or his aides to quickly and easily exchange paint colors. I am also exploring solutions to expand Diar's creative range including higher-reaching devices that enable him to create taller works of art that provide more flexibility and freedom in his craft. These advancements aim to make the system more autonomous, efficient, and adaptable to Diar's evolving artistic needs, while enabling me to continue the long-term progression of my hardware prototyping and circuitry skills.