Josh Nimoy‘s Robotic Typography recently got a mention by I.D. Magazine at the Student Design Review.

The robotic typeface explores the potential of dynamic text in public spaces without resorting to pixels. When you press a letter on a keyboard, six “brushstrokes”—wooden calipers attached to hobby servomotors spinning to the angle specified by a PIC chip—rotate to form the character.

But I found one of his last year’s project more amusing: RibbonType allows people to type a character to a kinetic sculpture with a mobile device and see it respond by forming the approximate typographic shape through contorting a thin white ribbon.

The screen name to send from the PDA or phone is RIBBONTYPE (and users who can browse the web with their mobile can also try http://128.122.151.201.) As it is a physical installation, RibbonType is not intended for experience on the web by people connecting from drastically remote geographies.

In the video, the cover has been removed from the installation, exposing the insides for added fun.