Robotic Drum Machine

Drum Robot

The robotic drum machine is an interactive invention consisting of mechanic, electronic and pneumatic devices, two industrial robots and a number of different drums, all built into a large container (watch video below). The idea behind the drumming robot is for an audience to engage interactively with it through simple control of complex robot technology benefiting from Wahlberg’s extensive experience in entertainment as well as advanced industrial robotics.

The machine was built to appear as a feature attraction in LabLand, an adult 'playground' celebrating technological innovation at the Skanderborg Music Festival (“Danmarks Smukkeste Festival”) in 2008.

Visitors were invited to play the drums by interacting with the robot interface. The drums and robots were controlled from a panel of buttons activating each percussive instrument. The resulting drum sequences were monitored on a screen, allowing the user to make further changes and adjustments to the chosen sequences of sound.

Using an internal step sequencer, the machine records all percussive beats in a two-bar loop. When the loop is repeated the user can add or delete notes from it. If more instrumentation is desired, the machine offers a choice of rock, techno, latin and jazz to complement the drumming.

The drum robot in action

Technical specifications
Size of the container	Length: 6 m. Depth: 2.5 m. Height: 2.5 m.
Robots	2 pc. Huyndai Ha020. Radius: 1,986 m. 2 drumsticks in each hand.
Drums	1 mega drum. Diameter: 120 cm. Drumhead: 1 mm. steel. 1 medium drum. Diameter: 80 cm. Drumhead: Kevlar armed rubber. 1 small drum, with pneumatic drumstick. 3 tam-tam drums, with pneumatic drumsticks. 3 cymbals with pneumatic drumsticks. 3 cow bells with pneumatic drumsticks. 2 tambourines with pneumatic drumsticks. 1 mechanical chimes with pneumatic drumstick.

Control system
Drumsticks	All drums are pneumatically powered, with 24 V valves. A MIDI interface is attached to each valve, so that all drumsticks are controlled by notes in MIDI.
Robots	The robots are MIDI controlled. Each position in the robot’s movements is connected to a MIDI note, such that the robot’s movement is activated by each MIDI note.
Control panel	All buttons in the control panel send off a MIDI note: on when pressed, and off when released.
Music control	The entire machine is controlled by a MAC computer. The music programming software used is MAX-MSP. A sampler is placed on top of a step sequencer combined with a quantizer. The sampler plays the different beats. On the step sequencer, the musical notes are divided into steps which are recorded. A monitor installed inside the drum machine shows an image of each step in the sequence and shows which instruments are present in each step.

Press

“At this year’s Skanderborg Festival, visitors were invited to interact with a giant robotic drum machine created by Danish inventor, Mads Wahlberg. The percussion instruments are played by a band of electronic devices such as several actuators and two huge industry robots.

To activitate the ensemble, the audience is presented with a sequencer panel consisting of an array of buttons, outside the cage in which the drums are housed. The buttons trigger different rhythms that are played by actuators rigged to specific percussive instruments, and two industry robots that are able to move and play all the drums. The entire installation has the size of a shipping container and is isolated in a cage to prevent the audience from getting in the way of the fast moving robots.

On several occasions, during the festival, real-life drummers would jam with the robot, creating a rather unique experience for by-passers.” (digitalexperience.cavi.dk, Dec. 2008)

The drum robot at LabLand, Skanderborg 2008

The drum robot in action at the Skanderborg Festival 2008

The construction of the machine

The first beat Under construction at The Wahlberg Workshop

Transportation

The drum robot on its way to The Skanderborg Festival 2008