Welcome: This is the project site for my recearch in Autonomous Musical Agents (Robots). Please review the documentation in the Left Toolbar below for Videos, Flow Charts, and Weekly reports. Also, >> Click Here << to download the paper I presented at the Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics (FCRAR) 2011.

The MIRAG was integrated into a project for the University of Florida's Transdisciplinary seminar: a graduate course integrating Graduate Composition, Digital Media, and Sculpture students. The collaborative efforts with Composer/Sculpture student, Paul Pino, resulted in new monocord resonators for the MIRAG built using Plexiglas, steel, and a laser cutter. The sound from the MIRAG is amplified, transposed down 2 octaves using realtime FFT, and sent to a subwoofer driving non-Newtonian fluid (designed by Paul Pino). This creates a realtime visualization in the fluid's wave patterns of what the MIRAG is playing. The cohesive system results in what we call the Hydra,the mythological three-headed water serpent.

:: Please :: Browse the Course Material links on the left to learn more about the project. Especially the videos.

My aim for this project was to construct a stationary musically intelligent robot with the following components:

1. This robot currently plays 3 separate mandolin-like guitar strings - i.e. monochords. Specifically, the scale length and strings are modeled from a Brazilian folk guitar type called the Viola Caipira.
2. Sensors: it senses its environment by means of sonar (people proximity) and photo resistors (ambient light). It has, for its special sensor, an Apple iSight camera that is wired to a computer for color and motion matrix analysis, which is then broadcasted via Nordic RF transceivers to the robot.
3. Intelligence: The robot will take the above sensor data and use this to inform parameters that will effect musical improvisations. For instance, color will effect parameters for scale-type (Blue = Lydian, Green = Dorian, Red = Hungarian Minor) and a photo resistor determines the tempo of performance. An MSP 430 processor is dedicated solely to this task and will compile packets of Note-on/off information to send to the actuator processors I call the reflexes.
4. Actuation: The music packets are sent via SPI to the reflex processors that handle control of the servos and stepper motor drivers. For each string: 1 servo picks the string back and fourth, 1 servo with a felt tip dampens the string, a stepper motor drives a belt up and down parallel to the string. On the belt is clamped a small dowel or rod that "nodes" the string in that given position - controlling the pitch of the string. This scheme results in interesting musical control as not only are discrete pitches possible, but also sliding from one pitch to another (glissando), oscillating around a given pitch (vibrato), and playing notes not in a tempered scale (alternative-non-western tunings). Bump switches are attached to Fret 0 of each monocord that detect when a reflex has successfully callibrated itself on startup to let the "Brain" know it is ready to perform.
5. Amplification: a small rare earth magnet glued to the top of a 33mH inductor mounted under the strings of each monocord is input to a mixer and amplified so one can hear better the music it plays. The amplified signals can also be sent to a speaker, driving non-Newtonian fluid. This visualizes the sound of the strings as the patterns of the fluid change to represent different wave forms.
6. Resonators: A collaboration with Sculpture/Composition student, Paul Pino, resulted in new monocord construction in the Fall '11 semester. The resonators are cut from Plexiglas and Steel using a laser cutter. The electronic componenet of the monocords are mounted onto these transparent new resonators. Special Thanks, Paul!

Given this system, through human interaction it will be possible to predict the behavior of this robot under specific circumstances, but all music heard is generated on-the-fly and not predetermined. It is part sonification of its environmental data and part musical improvisation.

Look Mom! No score! The musical counterpoint generated by MIRAG is based on algorithms I programmed informed by Harold Owen's book, Modal and Tonal Counterpoint. Currently, it plays 3-voice counterpoint in second species. My aim is to expand it to 4 or 5 voices and achieve 4th species in the near future.

Influence: I was watching this youtube (click to view) of a 4-string playing machine that was designed for Pat Metheny's orchestration project by the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots. My aim was to build something inspired by this and give it musical intelligence, sensors, and the ability to improvise musical gestures based on its environment, proximity of people, and the color of an observer's shirt.