A Raspberry Pi-powered robot is quietly taking the internet’s doodles and turning them into physical pixel art — one wooden block at a time. And while it’s slow, that’s part of its charm.
A Creative Spin on Pixel Art
The project, created by maker Ben Holmen, has been making waves on the Raspberry Pi subreddit. At first glance, it looks like a quirky art installation. But the magic is in how it works: visitors to Ben’s website can submit pixel art, which is then recreated on a 40×25 grid of wooden blocks.
Each block can be flipped to show either a white or black side. A small arm, controlled by a Raspberry Pi, moves across the grid, turning blocks one by one to match the uploaded artwork. It’s almost hypnotic to watch.
And yes — it takes ages to complete. But that’s exactly why people love it.
A Thousand Blocks, One Arm, Endless Patience
Holmen’s “Kilopixel” display contains exactly 1,000 pixels (40×25). In an age of smartphones with millions of pixels updating 60 times a second, it’s hilariously low-tech.
It updates at roughly 10 pixels per minute, meaning a detailed design can take hours. That inefficiency is deliberate — and oddly satisfying.
Holmen himself jokes about the contrast: “Compared to our modern displays… a wooden display that changes a single pixel 10 times a minute is incredibly inefficient.”
A Digital Queue for Physical Art
If you head to kilopx.com
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Watch a live feed of the robot as it works
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See the queue of upcoming designs
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Upvote your favorite submissions
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Browse a gallery of past creations
To contribute your own design, you’ll need a Bluesky account. Once submitted, your work joins the queue, waiting for its turn to be transformed into wooden reality.
Inspired by the Internet’s Collaborative Spirit
Holmen says the idea grew out of previous projects where strangers could interact with real-world devices — like remote-controlled Roombas. He wanted something equally fun but more visually collaborative.
The result is a community-powered art display that blends digital creativity with mechanical charm. Each flip of a block is a tiny act of craftsmanship, all orchestrated by a humble Raspberry Pi.
Why People Can’t Stop Watching
There’s a quiet satisfaction in seeing a physical representation of an online doodle slowly emerge. It’s the opposite of instant gratification — more like watching paint dry, if the paint could wave at you.
And in an internet where everything moves at breakneck speed, a slow-moving robot turning wooden tiles has a strangely calming effect.
Holmen might have called it Kilopixel for the math (1,000 blocks), but it’s quickly becoming a tiny pixelated corner of the internet that celebrates patience, creativity, and community fun.
