I was part of a team that developed a robotic drumming prosthesis. We worked with Meka Robotics in San Francisco on the design and lower level control. I then built the entire architecture for developing new expressive and musical controls. The prosthesis has motors that power two drumsticks. The first stick is controlled both physically by the musicians’ arms and electronically using electromyography (EMG) muscle sensors. The other stick “listens” to the music being played and improvises.
Here is a video of some highlights from a performance at the Atlanta Arts and Sciences Festival
Here is a video of a first prototype. I developed a functionality so the stick responds to the motion (measured by an accelerometer) so that it knows when I'm moving or not moving.
