The Rhythmotron

Play an algorithmic robotic percussion ensemble via a re-purposed piano – no musical knowledge required!

Rhythmotron is an interactive robotic drum-machine housed in a re-purposed upright piano. The top of the piano holds percussion instruments played by robotic drumsticks. You control the rhythms with knobs and buttons on the keyboard. The rhythms are generated by the XronoMorph software (https://www.dynamictonality.com/xronomorph.htm) running on a computer hidden inside the piano.

Figure 1: Rhythmotron at "Art and Science Collide", Bungarribee Park 2017.

Rhythmotron has been exhibited at several exhibitions and street-art festivals in Sydney: EDGE Lilyfield, EDGE Ashfield, EDGE Balmain, CeBIT Sydney Exhibition Centre, CoLABS “Art and Science Collide”, Bungarribee Park.

The team behind Rhythmotron are Western Sydney-based postdoctoral researchers and artists (MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour & Development, Western Sydney University): Andrew J. Milne (musician, researcher, and developer of XronoMorph), John Taylor (interactive media artist, composer, and researcher in human machine interaction), and Chris Stanton (robotics engineer).