A £250,000 robotic sculptor armed with metal chisels has reportedly recreated one of the Parthenon Sculptures in the Robotor workshop in Carrara, Tuscany, Italy.
According to the Daily Mail, researchers from the Oxford-based Institute of Digital Archaeology have used technology incorporated into the latest iPads to scan the original statues in the British Museum for the robot to copy.
The team behind the technology sculptured a horse’s head, known as Selene’s Stallion, which, 2,500 years ago, adorned the facade of the Parthenon in Athens.
The prototype has been created by a robotic arm to convince the British Museum to relinquish the marble sculpture and return it to the Greek Government. Pictured: A trial piece is being practised on using a different type of marble than the original sculpture.
The robotic sculptor is said to have the strength of a bulldozer and the precision of a brain surgeon, the robotic arm shaped the marble far faster than any human sculptor could, and can carve a rough copy of the head in less than 24 hours.
'Each marble will cost between an estimated £40,000 and £150,000, depending on the size.
'In fact, there will soon be two copies of the stallion: this test piece in Carrara marble, and a second using marble brought from what little is left at the quarry on Mount Pentelicus, just north of Athens, from where the original’s stone came.'
