"Musical Robot Self Tuning" from Jim Murphy

[Airicist]

vimeo.com/jwm

ctrlvoltage.blogspot.com

[Airicist]

A short demo video of musical robotic self-tuning. The self-tuning process involves three steps: first, the robot's strings are characterized-- the strings' response to varying MIDI commands is recorded and stored. Second, the detuned string is picked and its current pitch compared to the pre-measured pitches. The behavior of the string at its current pitch is interpolated from the pre-characterized pitches. Finally, MIDI commands are routed through the self-tuning application. The application transforms incoming NoteOn commands to correctly-tuned pitchbend instructions understood by the robot.

Thanks to Paul Mathews for coding expertise.

[Airicist]

Tangled Expressions

Tangled Expressions is a composition featuring four new mechatronic instruments: Nudge (a mechatronic drum beater) plays with Kritaanjli (an augmented harmonium), and is later joined by MechBass and Swivel 2 (two new robotic chordophones). All of the robots are networked together using the Tangle server: a client computer sends OSC data to a Tangle host, which translates the messages into formats parseable by each robot.
Jim Murphy (Victoria University of Wellington), 2014