Sound Machines 2.0 was developed to use automation for an artistic endeavor—to make music. Pneumatic cylinders make strings vibrate, while electric drives determine the harmony. Sound Machines 2.0 comprises five self-playing stringed instruments that combine to produce an intelligent, robot-controlled sound installation. It records any melody played to it, uses it to compose a new piece of music, and then plays the new composition live.
The instruments—a double bass, a viola, a cello and two violins—are freely suspended to guarantee a high level of sound quality. They work like proper string instruments, but have just one string each. Like a bow in the hands of a musician, a pneumatic cylinder moves a small hammer that makes the string vibrate. An electric drive moves along the string, determining the pitch in the same way as the musician’s left hand.
The quintet is controlled by the Festo automation platform CPX. The interplay of the individual components produces an intelligent, complete system that responds to the played melody and provides different variations from the input received.
The instruments react to any melody played to them according to stored composition rules and reinterpret it. The individual sound robots are networked so that they can “listen” to each other. New variations are continuously being produced that differ from the original theme, but retain the essence of the composition.
The Sound Machines 2.0 installation, realized in cooperation with the artist Roland Olbeter, shows how decentralized components will be networked into self-controlling, mechatronic complete systems in the factory of the future. These systems can develop their own, autonomous behavior patterns in the group and make individual decisions themselves.
Submitted by: Frank Langro, Director – Marketing and Product Management, Festo Corp.
Joe McGuirk says
Is this machine commercially available?
katrina says
Looking for Pneumatic Equipment and Components? If yes, then you are at the right place here is the website that has a variety of company and suppliers that offers different kind of Pneumatic Equipment and Components http://www.thegreenbook.com/products/pneumatic-equipment-components/