March 27, 2012 - A mechatronic project at The University of Stuttgart has resulted in a robotic band, consisting of a guitar and a keyboard played by robotic systems via the Sercos automation bus. The Sercos robotic guitar is played by a system that interprets MIDI files using an MLP industrial control from Bosch Rexroth and bus terminals from Phoenix Contact to actuate a group of lifting solenoids via Sercos commands. Six pluck the strings and 24 operate the finger board. Visitors to the website can listen to selections from the guitar’s repertoire and request a copy of a CD containing 26 classical selections played by the Sercos guitar. The robotic keyboard has two hands, each with 16 fingers.
They move across the keyboard on separate rails, allowing them to cross each other. To exactly hit the keys, fast horizontal movements with precise stops were a special challenge. The mechatronic students installed Bosch Rexroth linear inverters, IndraDrive CS drives and bus couplers. The complex sequences are coordinated by the Sercos automation bus. The Sercos Guitar made its debut in the Sercos booth at Hannover Fair 2011 and appeared again at the 2011 SPS/IPC/Drive show in Nuremberg.
In 2012, the Sercos Keyboard will join the guitar at the Hannover Fair, April 23-27; at SPS-IPC Drives Italia in Parma Italy, May 22-24 and at SPS-IPC Drives in Nuremberg, Germany November 27-29, 2012.