Photo credit: Malmö Live Konserthus
A robot skillfully played the cello alongside the Malmo Symphony Orchestra earlier this month in Sweden. We can see the arm smoothly glide a bow across the instrument’s four strings, while a 3D-printed appendage enabled it to manipulate the fretboard.
This pair of robotic arms was programmed by composer Fredrik Gran and played a piece by Swedish composer Jacob Muhlrad. The feat is quite impressive considering that a cello requires the cellist to use more than one pitch for the same note name. Who knows, it may even join Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda orchestra some time in the future.
- Build your own awesome, wearable mechanical hand that you operate with your own fingers.
- No motors, no batteries — just the power of air pressure, water, and your own hands!
- Hydraulic pistons enable the mechanical fingers to open and close and grip objects with enough force to lift them. Every finger joint can be adjusted...
[Fredrik Gran] actually worked with two industrial robot arms that could play the cello. And I thought that was very interesting, because there’s obviously a lot of self-playing pianos, but the string instrument is so intricate, so I was very curious about how it actually works,” said Jacob Muhlrad, Swedish Composer.
[Source]
