Steven Shamlian Creator of Things

Buried in Minutiae


2005

Xylobot

The xylobot is a proof of concept for a robotic orchestra of children's toys. My friend Brian Kirby and I thought it would be cool to have an autonomous band, including a 25-bar xylophone which could drive up to and interact with audience members. Not only could the orchestra play itself, but it could react to the audience by listening and improvising off what it heard. This is a work in progress; so far, the xylophone is able to actuate its bars and play pre-programmed songs. The xylobot was later used as a tool to kickstart a group of freshmen robotics students interested in developing on autonomous instruments; this project continues at the Robotics Club at CMU and has won numerous awards.

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