Homework Machine Saves Time, Possibly

It’s been said that computers make great teachers because they’re so dumb, they force you to think harder.¹ That’s definitely true in the case of this automatic homework machine by Devadath PR of Thrissur, Kerala, India, which uses a CoreXY plotter and clever programming to convincingly forge the answers.

Fed up at 15 with an educational system that felt heavy on rote memorization but low on critical thinking, Devadath began building a machine to do the boring part for him. He spent years refining it, going from a standard single-line font to a custom one based on his handwriting, and finally coded subtle randomizations to appear more human. The whole development is an exercise in mechatronics, programming, and iterating, driven by the need to refine the design to evade detection.

After the lab teacher caught me and asked me to rewrite the 100 pages by hand, I decided to double down.

The execution is marvelous. Devadath gives credit to other machines that came first, but he’s added automatic page turning, better handwriting generation, cursive support, and other improvements. While machines that faithfully duplicate human handwriting have practical uses, this is the most effort I’ve seen put into avoiding an assignment. I’m curious how the machine’s output compares to the amount of code he wrote in making it. In any case, building the device was likely more educational than the assignments it completed.

The homework machine in the video is from 2022 and seems to work quite well. Still, Devadath recently posted an update explaining he’s adding more automation and reliability, eventually hoping to turn it into a product. I’m less convinced about the benefits of buying a finished machine, but launching a product from scratch is bound to be educational. We have some resources if you’re interested in building a writing machine of your own.

1. I’m no longer sure who said it. But with 8.2 billion people on earth I’m sure it’s been said by somebody. ↩︎