Building Models of Bobbin Lace as Automata

Undergraduate Research, University of Washington

Winter and Spring Quarter, 2025

Meeting on Tuesdays 3:30 - 4:30pm, CSE2 276

This project aims to model bobbin lace-making using automata, combining traditional fiber art with computational techniques. Bobbin lace is a 500-year-old practice where artists braid threads into complex patterns, using repeated elements called backgrounds, grounds, or fillings. Traditionally, creating lace requires high levels of manual skill and experience. By translating lace-making techniques into automated rules, we can represent the steps of the craft as computational processes. This work involves breaking down lace patterns into algorithmic steps and applying principles from automata theory, such as states and transitions, to capture the precise and repetitive actions that lace-making requires.
Student Github: https://github.com/raghavip03/bobbin_lace/tree/raghavi/main
Poster Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1d9EfTTvgLZARY-g1PEMY5rI6C0LFaxWFj0bBIXTWRac/edit?slide=id.g358907d571f_3_130#slide=id.g358907d571f_3_130