Kevin Krumwiede’s RoboTar robotic chord player. (via kickstarter)
Robotic musicians are on the rise and some are ‘heavy metal’ in the true sense of the term with concerts being played by Z Machines, Compressorhead and The Trons. Humans on the other hand have been playing musical instruments since the beginning of time, however it seems the gap between man and machine musicians has been bridged thanks to Kevin Krumweide and his RoboTar. The RoboTar is a robotic guitar player of sorts, which plays the chords while its human counterpart strums the strings.
The robot changes chords through a foot pedal that the player depresses throughout the song being played. It actually ‘sits’ on the first 4 frets of the guitar neck and doesn’t ‘slide’ to change the notes but rather relies actuating octaves in the two and a half range, thereby changing the pitch. The robot interfaces with a PC or mobile devices through a USB or Bluetooth connection running the RoboTar app, which lets the users create their own songs with default or custom chords as well as single notes. Users can then string those chords and notes along to create their own songs at the tempo they desire. Don’t want to use the foot pedal to change chords? No problem, as performers can use the app on their mobile devices to change the notes and chords. Those who are interested in playing the guitar as well as those with disabilities can take advantage of RoboTar to help them along and create the music they have always dreamed of playing.
Kevin is currently crowd-funding his RoboTar on Kickstarter in the hopes of getting the robot off to the manufacturers for production. Those interested in getting their hands on one can pledge $175 for the ‘Maker Kit’ and assemble it themselves or $319 for the fully assembled model, complete with other amenities for both versions. The campaign is nearing its end, and looks like this project will not be funded on the site. It's a shame...
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