Robotic tongue drummer bangs out all the ambient hits

原始链接: https://blog.arduino.cc/2025/06/07/this-robotic-tongue-drummer-bangs-out-all-the-ambient-hits/

In June 2025, the Arduino Team highlighted Jeremy Cook's robotic tongue drum player. This robot automates the art of playing a tongue drum, a unique percussion instrument known for its ambient sounds often found in "deep focus" soundtracks. Cook's robot features eight solenoids, each responsible for striking a corresponding tongue on the drum. These solenoids are mounted on a laser-cut MDF frame with PVC pipe supports. An Arduino Opta Lite micro PLC controls the solenoids, receiving power through an Arduino Pro Opta Ext D1608S solid-state relay expansion module. The robot is equipped with a MIDI input, facilitated by Cook's custom Opta-compatible I2C and serial adapter (available on Tindie), allowing it to be controlled by a MIDI keyboard or a PC loaded with pre-written or algorithmically generated music. This enables both real-time manual playing and automated performances of ambient musical pieces. Attendees of the Orlando Maker Faire in the previous year may have encountered this robotic percussionist.

A Hacker News thread discusses a robotic tongue drummer built using an Arduino, capable of playing ambient music. One commenter humorously laments that it's not a *literal* tongue drumming. Another highlights the project's design inspiration from the Cray II supercomputer and questions the necessity of an Arduino Opta over a simpler Nano. This user speculates the Opta might be required to handle the 24V solenoids powering the drumming mechanism. Another user shares a similar idea for a chromatic percussive or wind instrument controlled by solenoids or valves, noting the significant cost involved for a large number of notes. Finally, one commenter expresses enthusiasm and envisions a small robot trap set drummer providing entertainment while playing along to music. The thread ends with a Y Combinator Fall 2025 batch application reminder.

This robotic tongue drummer bangs out all the ambient hits

Arduino Team — June 7th, 2025

If you like to listen to those “deep focus” soundtracks that are all ambient and relaxing, then you’ve heard a tongue drum in action. A tongue drum, or tank drum, is a unique percussion instrument traditionally made from an empty propane cylinder — though purpose-built models are now common. Several tongues are cut into one end cap and weighted to produce specific notes when struck. As with all instruments, playing a tongue drum is an art. To simplify that, Jeremy Cook built a robot capable of playing a small tongue drum.

When robotizing a percussion instrument, it is common to use solenoids and that is what Cook did here. Solenoid actuators like these move linearly and can strike with pretty decent force, which makes them a good choice. Cook’s drum has eight tongues, so his robot has eight solenoids held by flexible friction arms mounted onto a C-shaped laser-cut MDF frame. PVC pipes actual as the vertical structural supports on that frame.

An Arduino Opta Lite micro PLC sends power to the solenoids through an Arduino Pro Opta Ext D1608S solid-state relay expansion module, which contains eight SSRs that can each handle 24VDC at 2A.

To tell the robot what tunes to play, Cook added a MIDI input that comes through an Opta-compatible I2C and serial adapter of his own design. That adapter is available for sale on Tindie if you want one.

The MIDI input can come from a something like a keyboard for real-time manual control, or it can come from a PC for playing pre-written (or algorithm-generated) ambient hits. If you attended the Orlando Maker Faire last year, you may have had a chance to try this robotic tongue drummer for yourself.