Robotic violin player performs in masterclass

On Thursday 1 November, a very unusual masterclass will take place at the University of NSW when Sydney Youth Orchestra (SYO) violinist Megan Lee leads the ‘RoboFiddler’ in performance.

The robotic violin player is sponsored by NICTA (Australia’s Information and Communications Technology Research Centre of Excellence) and created by University of Adelaide mechatronics engineering students.

While RoboFiddler will not be playing at the Royal Albert Hall any time soon, it won second place in the inaugural Artemis Orchestra contest held in Berlin in June 2007. The competition is based on longstanding European traditions in music and challenges participants to create devices which play real musical instruments with the help of various embedded technologies.

RoboFiddler was developed by University of Adelaide mechatronic engineering students Yee Chia, Boon Hong, Chin Lee and Beinjy Lim. The team created a system that links a conventional laptop computer to a microcontroller controlling both the robotic ‘bow arm’ and a series of six metal ‘fingers’ to allow 28 notes to be played across the four strings.

“It is a complex system because the bow needs to be told not only which string to play, but at what angle and speed to play to ensure a clean sound,” University of Adelaide Head of the School of Mechanical Engineering Prof Colin Hansen said.

“The result is not up to orchestra standard, but it is an impressive piece of engineering.”

17-year-old Megan Lee, SYO violinist, will lead RoboFiddler in playing the two pieces it performed at the Artemis competition: a traditional piece called Soldier’s Joy, and a study from German composer Hans Sitt’s 100 Etudes.

“The award-winning robotics of RoboFiddler have a long way to go, and participating in a masterclass with a real performer is part of the next step to true musicality,” NICTA Senior Research Engineer Dr John Judge said.