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ArtBots - The Robot Talent Show
douglas repetto writes "Info on the participants in the Second Annual International ArtBots: The Robot Talent Show, to be held in New York this July, is now online. and there's lots of fun geek/tech/art candy. Participants include robots that draw, sculpt, and play musical instruments, as well as many with talents that are a bit harder to pin down."
Grab yourself a turntable and some vinyl and give it a go - I think you'll be very surprised how difficult it is to play a turntable well. You've got to be improvise and keep in time with a far faster beat than you'll find in any other form of music, and have an excellent understanding - or rather feel - for how a particular sound can be manipulated by combinations of speed of movement and pressure. Contrary to popular belief, a turntablist doesn't just slam down a record and move his/her hand back and forth - it would sound atrocious.
That said, I suspect this robot wont be a very good player - it's creating scratches alone, without any backing beat, and there's no mention made of what sounds it's scratching over. Best guess is that it hashes your e-mail into some function representing speed and direction, and translates that directly to the motors on the decks.
P