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Robot orchestra marries music and machines (video)
It may not be the first go-round for the Karmetik Machine Orchestra, but the automated musicians, fashioned by a group of students at the California Institute of the Arts, took the stage last night to prove that robots can rock. Among the mechanized musicians scheduled to perform at the Walt Disney Modular Theater were MahaDevibot, Glockenbot, BreakBot, and NotomotoN, described as a "duel-head drum with twelve beaters and a mallet orchestra." Each of the robots was built from salvaged parts and programmed by CalArts students, who control the machines from laptops during performances. A description of the show posted to the CalArts website touts music-producing robots suspended from the ceiling that trigger sound activated light shows and animation -- now that sounds like a way to spend a Thursday night. Check out a video of the players and their masters after the break.
Apple and the Rise of the Machines: Don't worry, they're just here to rock
Whenever I heard "robots" and "Los Angeles" used in the same sentence, I thought of only one thing: the end of the freaking world as we know it. But all that's changed after I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at a current rise of a group of machines happening at a company called KarmetiK, and what I saw there literally rocked me. If you're into Macs and music and live in the LA area, I've got a treat for you. The world premiere of The Machine Orchestra will take place at REDCAT Theater in downtown LA on Wednesday, January 27th at 8:30pm. If you're in the area, I highly recommend you check it out. What is a machine orchestra, you ask? Imagine a crate full of Apple computers, musical instruments, Terminators, and cutting edge technicians and musicians. Now take that crate, shake it up, and spill it out onto a stage. What you're left with is a group of robotic machines that play musical instruments alongside human artists – all controlled by software written for and running on Macs.
