- Title: Ukrainian man builds intricate wooden robot figures as hobby
- Date: 19th July 2017
- Summary: ZAPORIZHZHYA, UKRAINE (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF UKRAINIAN MAN, DMITRIY BALANDIN, SHOWING FEMALE WOODEN ROBOT HE HAS BUILT IN HIS HOME WOODEN ROBOT'S JOINTS VARIOUS OF BALANDIN ADJUSTING FIGURE FIGURE'S JOINT (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DESIGNER OF WOODEN ROBOT FIGURES, DMITRIY BALANDIN, SAYING: "The first detail I made was a foot. I made a leg and then started to think how this leg would look with, for example, a shank, then hip, and then everything else forward. That's how it worked out. I did not know the final result, I moved from one detail to another. It's like an art, I liked it very much and I was curious myself as to how it would look in the end. I wanted to see the result and that's why I wanted to finish the work faster." VARIOUS OF SMALL WOODEN ROBOT PLACED ON TABLE WITH BALANDIN'S PHOTOGRAPHS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DESIGNER OF WOODEN ROBOTS FIGURES, DMITRIY BALANDIN, SAYING: "I looked at this first model (LOOKS AT FIGURE RESTING ON WALL) and realised that I could do better. That's why I started making a female robot." (REPORTER ASKING OFF CAMERAS: "How did you improve it?") "She has more detail and she has better mobility and it is visible that she is a woman (LAUGHS) that is a feminine shape, the face. The face is composed of some 120 details, just the face alone. She is more complex. It is obvious that the woman should be more beautiful than the male (robot)." FACE OF FEMALE WOODEN ROBOT CLOSE OF FIGURE VARIOUS OF BALANDIN SHOWING HIS FIGURE AND REMOVING THE FACE ELEMENT CLOSE OF WOODEN FACE CLOSE OF FIGURE VARIOUS OF BALANDIN WORKING WITH WOOD BALANDIN'S EQUIPMENT ON TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DESIGNER OF WOODEN ROBOT FIGURES, DMITRIY BALANDIN, SAYING: "When I started this I had not plans to exhibit them anywhere. I made them for myself, so that they could be at my home. Yes, now they stand there for some time, my wife uses the second model to put hats on it, hangs something on it. It's standing in the corridor like a servant (LAUGHS) and she puts things on it. Of course, I would like to participate in some exhibitions." VARIOUS OF MALE ROBOT FIGURE IN SITTING POSITION (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DESIGNER OF WOODEN ROBOTS FIGURES, DMITRIY BALANDIN, SAYING (SPEAKING ABOUT HIS LATEST CREATION): "The essence is that I had an idea to help people who want to walk. They have some leg injuries, but they have a potential to be rehabilitated. There are different systems, but I got interested in external skeletons which exist in different countries - Japan, United States. Various inventors work on this. So much money is invested in it, so many people work in this sphere, and the final price is so high. So I don't know when they will become available in Ukraine. And if they are available, then who will be able to afford them?" BALANDIN'S PATENT VARIOUS OF BALANDIN DEMONSTRATING HOW HIS WOODEN MODEL OF AN EXOSKELETON WORKS
- Embargoed: 2nd August 2017 14:05
- Keywords: Ukraine Zaporizhzhya wooden robots figures wood creation hobby design
- Location: ZAPORIZHZHYA, UKRAINE
- City: ZAPORIZHZHYA, UKRAINE
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0016QDUE6X
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Ukrainian engineer with a love for art featuring robots has embarked on a creative journey of building life-size wooden figures.
Dmitriy Balandin, who by day operates a crane at a factory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya, 500 km from the capital, spends all his spare time modelling figures in his home.
The engineer has created what he calls a family of flexible life-size dolls that look like robots.
Balandin has no formal training as an artist and so his intricate creations are developed as he goes along, without the help of preliminary sketches. He cuts smalls pieces of wood, models them into size before assembling them together.
It took Balandin six months to put together his first wooden robot doll, which he calls Sailon. The figure is almost 2 metres high and is composed of around 800 parts.
The construction site engineer then decided to pair Sailon with a female creation, which he calls Amazonka. Balandin said Amazonka was made in finer detail compared to his previous creation and required greater effort. The figure which has mock eyes, a nose and lips is composed of 1,000 pieces, with 120 on the face alone.
A small robot figure that represents a child sits comfortably on a table in Balandin's home, positioned near his family portraits.
Balandin hopes his creations can be featured in exhibitions around the country. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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