May 17 2006Haile Robot Drummer Mimic
Haile is a robot drummer designed to accompany regular drummers as they lay down rhythm. Designed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the robot sits across a "Native American powow" drum from a human drummer and begins detecting the rhythm, loudness, and pitch of its human counterpart's drumming. Haile follows the human's drumming by mimicking the pattern, and then improvises by dividing, multiplying, or skipping beats. Future plans include using genetic algorithms to help Haile modify and improvise beats more creatively. The Georgia Institute of Technology plans to use several Haile robots to completely replace the dreadlocked college students who just hang around playing drums in the grass. A future robot to replace guys who always play their acoustic guitars at parties is "definitely in planning."
