Cool Hunting

LEMUR, League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots, is a Brooklyn-based group of artists and technologists who've been creating robotic musical instruments for the past several years. Founder Eric Singer, with the help of others, creates sculptural musical instruments integrating robotic technology.

GuitarBot (pictured) is an electrified slide guitar that is versatile, responsive and easy to control, with high-quality sound. Now in it's third iteration, the instrument consists of four independent single-stringed slide guitar units controlled by a motorized belt that moves a sliding bridge. The pick mechanism consists of mounted four guitar picks that rotate on a shaft. Each unit is independently tunable and has a 2-octave range. The bridge can move from one end of the range to the other in 1/4 second and each has an electromagnetic pickup also of their design. Click here for video of GuitarBot.

Like a xylophone or marimba, TibetBot (above right) is a robotically controlled percussive instrument that can create both atonal rhythms as well as tonal droning soundscapes. It is comprised of three Tibetan singing bowls which six robotic arms strike to make sounds. Each bowl produces several harmonics and two tones. A raw aluminum bar produces a high pitch tone when it strikes and the other arm has a soft rubber end that produces a low tone when the bowl is struck. Click here to see video of TibetBot.

For more in-depth explanation, to see abstract instruments and to learn about future performances visit LEMUR.