# Topics > Arts > Music >  Mortimer, drumming robot, Louis McCallum

## Airicist

Developer - Louis McCallum

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## Airicist

MORTIMER: The drumming robot! 

Published on Dec 31, 2014




> Meet Mortimer, the drumming robot who is transforming the way humans and robots interact.
> 
> Louis McCallum from Queen Mary University of London built Mortimer to investigate the way people engage with robots. As machines become more and more integrated in everyday life researchers are looking into our relationships with them. Through the magic of music and science, Mortimer is trying to engage with musicians in a new way. Social activities like playing music are inherently human experiences. Trying to approximate these can help to build long term relationships and increase people’s comfort with robots. The research is investigating how subtle changes like facial expressions and head tilts can have a surprising impact on how people engage with a machine.
> 
> Mortimer stars in the final instalment of the 2014 CHRISTMAS LECTURES, 'Sparks will fly: How to hack your home'. Watch the lecture on December 31 2014 on BBC Four, or see if on the Ri Channel from early 2015
> 
> Sparks will fly: How to hack your home
> A revolution is happening. Across the world people are taking control of the devices we use every day, customising them, creating new things and using the sparks of their imagination to change the world. Now it’s your turn, and you can start with the things you have around you.
> 
> ...

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