{ introduction }

{ Hello everyone, and welcome!

Meet Todd, our oh-so-friendly elephant-artist-extraordinaire.

Our inspiration for Todd came the remarkable paintings done by elephants that used their trunks to paint their own canvases. Some debate whether elephant art is an example of abstract expressionism-no better or worse than those producted by human giants. Others see it as a cute talent. Either way, elephant art has been steadily becoming more popular. In one conservation project, specially chosen painting pachyderms of Thailand were taught by prominent New York City artists, Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid. Their works are sold and the proceeds are intended to support the 2,500 elephants left in Thailand. To find out more about this cause, click here.

Here at Wellesley, Todd is no less of an artist, although he paints for sheer enjoyment (unfortunately his works are not for sale at this time :). His robotic trunk moves with expert precision in vertical, horizontal, or circular strokes, and when petted, applauded, or fed the right type of leaf, he will oblige you with a variety of different reactions. If you pet him on the ear, he shows his satisfaction and happiness by drawing a smiley face for you. If fed leaves, he will munch on this green foliage and tell you exactly what he thinks by spelling out "YUM". And lastly, if you clap for him and praise him for his work, he will present you with a personal autograph in the form of a self-portrait.

Ah yes, Todd is an amiable elephant! Running on six motors, he is a hefty robot with lots of energy. In addition, he also employs a specially automated easel operated by one more motor. Todd uses different sensors to "hear" your clapping, "feel" your petting, and "eat" what you feed him. With Todd using a HandyBoard and a PicoCricket, and our easel using another HandyBoard, the easel and Todd can communicate while Todd is drawing so that his drawings can be even better.

{Todd in his natural habitat}