Scott Driscoll

Robot-human interaction with an anthropomorphic percussionist

The paper presents our approach for human-machine interaction with an anthropomorphic mechanical percussionist that can listen to live players, analyze perceptual musical aspects in real-time, and use the product of this analysis to play along in a collaborative manner. Our robot, named Haile, is designed to combine the benefits of computational power, perceptual modeling, and algorithmic music with the richness, visual interactivity, and expression of acoustic playing. We believe that when interacting with live players, Haile can facilitate a musical experience that is not possible by any other means, inspiring users to collaborate with it in novel and expressive manners. Haile can, therefore, serve a test-bed for novel forms of musical human-machine interaction, bringing perceptual aspects of computer music into the physical world both visually and acoustically.

The interactive robotic percussionist: new developments in form, mechanics, perception and interaction design

We present new developments in the improvisational robotic percussionist project, aimed at improving human-robot interaction through design, mechanics, and perceptual modeling. Our robot, named Haile, listens to live human players, analyzes perceptual aspects in their playing in real-time, and uses the product of this analysis to play along in a collaborative and improvisatory manner. It is designed to combine the benefits of computational power in algorithmic music with the expression and visual interactivity of acoustic playing. Hailes new features include an anthropomorphic form, a linear-motor based robotic arm, a novel perceptual modeling implementation, and a number of new interaction schemes. The paper begins with an overview of related work and a presentation of goals and challenges based on Hailes original design. We then describe new developments in physical design, mechanics, perceptual implementation, and interaction design, aimed at improving human-robot interactions with Haile. The paper concludes with a description of a user study, conducted in an effort to evaluate the new functionalities and their effectiveness in facilitating expressive musical human-robot interaction. The results of the study show correlation between humans and Hailes rhythmic perception as well as user satisfaction regarding Hailes perceptual and mechanical abilties. The study also indicates areas for improvement such as the need for better timbre and loudness control and more advance and responsive interaction schemes.

The Design of a Perceptual and Improvisational Robotic Marimba Player

The paper presents the theoretical background and the design scheme for a perceptual and improvisational robotic marimba player that interacts with human musicians in a visual and acoustic manner. Informed by an evaluation of a previously developed robotic percussionist, we present the extension of our work to melodic and harmonic realms with the design of a robotic player that listens to, analyzes and improvises pitch-based musical materials. After a discussion of the motivation for the project, theoretical background and related work, we present a set of research questions followed by our hardware and software approaches designed to address these questions. The paper concludes with a description of our plans to implement and embed these approaches in the robotic marimba player that will be used in workshops and concerts.

Musical interactions with a perceptual robotic percussionist

We present our approach for human-robot musical interaction using a perceptual and socially-oriented robotic percussionist. Our robot, named Haile, listens to live players, analyzes perceptual musical aspects in real-time, and uses the product of this analysis to playback in an acoustically rich manner, forming musical collaborations with human players. We conclude by proposing guidelines for pedagogy and an educational environment for learning music, math, acoustics, and programming through interaction with Haile.

The design of a robotic marimba player: introducing pitch into robotic musicianship

The paper presents the theoretical background and the design scheme for a perceptual and improvisational robotic marimba player that interacts with human musicians in a visual and acoustic manner. Informed by an evaluation of a previously developed robotic percussionist, we present the extension of our work to melodic and harmonic realms with the design of a robotic player that listens to, analyzes and improvises pitch-based musical materials. After a presentation of the motivation for the project, theoretical background and related work, we present a set of research questions followed by a description of hardware and software approaches that address these questions. The paper concludes with a description of our plans to implement and embed these approaches in a robotic marimba player that will be used in workshops and concerts.

Electric Motors Coupled to Hydraulic Motors as Actuators for Hydraulic Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Simulation enables testing of an actual physical component of a system under a variety of conditions without the expense of full scale testing. In hydraulic systems, flows or pressures that interface with the component in question are controlled by a computer running a simulation designed to emulate a complete system under real operating conditions. Typically, servo valves are used as actuators to control the flows or pressures. This paper investigates the use of electric servo-motors coupled to hydraulic gear motors as alternative actuators, and discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages that motors have in comparison to valves. A demonstration HIL simulation involving a mobile proportional flow control valve attached to an emulated backhoe is described, and results are compared to data from a real backhoe.© 2005 ASME