Codex Roboticus, an interactive e-book experiment, is the combination of two main elements. On one hand, from a content point of view, Codex Roboticus will be based on the same approach as the Voynich manuscript, an illustrated codex from the 15th century seeming to present illustrations and information about (non-existent) plants and their possible medical purposes. However, in the case of Codex Roboticus, the subject matter will not be plants and their medical use but robot-based characters instead. The e-book will include sections pertaining to the different types of robots, different mechanical parts, tools and control systems for robots and perhaps even specialized user interfaces. Just like the Voynich manuscript, the Codex Roboticus e-book will include many illustrations. The images included in this post exemplify my latest attempt to define an illustration style for the book.

Codex Roboticus robot

On the other hand, the Codex Roboticus project will also include the three.js-based interactive 3D event player that I referred to in my post on the semantic modeling of narrative events effectively complementing the e-book from both a content and an experience point of view. In essence, the event player application makes it possible to interactively navigate a series of narrative events with accompanying participants and other related objects in a 3D viewer optionally combined with AR functionality.

I’m looking forward to start working on Codex Roboticus in earnest and hopefully the idea appeals to other people, as well.

I will periodically post updates and generally try to keep people informed as to how the project is progressing. If you have any questions with regards to Codex Roboticus, just get in touch with me on Twitter.