Robotic tongue drummer bangs out all the ambient hits

10 months ago

Tongue drums are percussion instruments traditionally made from propane cylinders, producing specific notes when struck.
Jeremy Cook built a robot to play a small tongue drum using solenoids for striking the drum's eight tongues.
The robot's frame is made of laser-cut MDF with PVC pipes as vertical supports, and solenoids are mounted on flexible friction arms.
An Arduino Opta Lite micro PLC controls the solenoids via a solid-state relay expansion module, handling 24VDC at 2A per solenoid.
The robot includes a MIDI input for real-time manual control or pre-written music, compatible with an I2C and serial adapter designed by Cook.
The robotic tongue drummer was showcased at the Orlando Maker Faire, allowing attendees to experience it firsthand.

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