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Your Audio News Source
0418 360 377
Subject:
Robot-operated clarinet
wins Australian researchers
major International prize
Attn:
Radio Newsroom Chiefs of Staff, Producers, Reporters.
Pages:
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### Embargoed until Thursday 19th June, 2008 ###
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INTERVIEW AUDIO IS AVAILABLE FROM 5 am – 19/06/08
Audio News Release Includes -;
Robot Playing Clarinet “Flight of the Bumble Bee” { 1 Minute }
Interviews
Dr John Judge, Senior research Engineer, project leader, NICTA
Mark Sheahan, Computer Engineering Student, UNSW
Prof. Joe Wolfe, School of Physics, UNSW
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Robot-operated clarinet
wins Australian researchers major prize
A clarinet-playing robot developed by Australian researchers has won an international
prize playing “Flight of the Bumble Bee”.
A Medialink Video News Release containing vision of the robot playing its favourite
piece and interviews with the developers will be distributed at 11am AET via Seven
Sydney.
Official Press Release:
Australian Researchers Hit Winning Note with Robot-operated Clarinet
A NICTA/UNSW team has won a significant international technology award, winning
first place in the ARTEMIS Orchestra competition in Athens with a robotically
operated, computer-driven clarinet.
The NICTA/UNSW project, led by NICTA’s Dr John Judge, developed the clarinet-
player over the last eight months. According to Dr Judge, his team won first place due
to the high level of technical difficulty in the design of its robot “mouth”, and the
device’s unique, completely embedded computer system. The NICTA/UNSW clarinet
works without any human interaction.
Around 98 percent of computing devices are now embedded in all kinds of equipment,
which get smaller and smarter each day. The ARTEMIS Orchestra competition
challenges contestants to build devices that play real musical instruments, to
demonstrate the creative potential of Embedded Systems. Aimed at higher education
and universities, the competition is organised by the association of European actors
in embedded systems research and development (ARTEMISIA).
“The general standard of the entries rose significantly from last year and the clarinet
player was no exception,” said Artemisia President Dr Yrjö Neuvo. “The jury placed it
as the overall winner due to its playing ability and the complexity of its mouthpiece
design. This competition is about demonstrating the capabilities of embedded
systems by using them to perform the complex task of playing a musical instrument,
and the NICTA/UNSW clarinet achieved this,” he added.
“It is conceivable that in the near future, we could see an entire orchestra made up of
computer-driven instruments like this clarinet,” said NICTA Chief Technology Officer
Dr Chris Nicol, “They will interpret a musical score and follow a conductor.” Dr Nicol
compared the embedded computing skills needed to make a clarinet play a tune in
real time to the skills needed to control the systems in a motor car.
The Australian entry played Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee and Ravel’s
Bolero. The second-placed team from Eindhoven impressed the judges with a
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robotically-driven guitar, which sounded extremely realistic, but first place went to the
NICTA/UNSW entry because its technological difficulty was higher.
The UNSW’s School of Physics Professor Joe Wolfe, who brought his music
acoustics expertise to the project, said a big challenge (as for real-life clarinetists!)
was to avoid squeaks. Important circuit boards were completed only days before the
competition. Fortunately, “when we turned it (the robot) on, it already knew how to play
scales, very quickly and accurately,” said Professor Wolfe.
“It is pleasing to see NICTA-sponsored technology taking its place on the European
stage,” said NICTA CEO Dr David Skellern, “Avenues such as ARTEMISIA provide
enormously valuable links between Australia’s ICT innovations and Europe’s
sophisticated and far-reaching ICT marketplace.”
The NICTA/UNSW clarinet was developed by NICTA in partnership with the University
of New South Wales. The project team included UNSW Computer Science and
Engineering student Mr Mark Sheahan, NICTA Project leader Dr John Judge, and Dr
Peter Chubb, who developed the music software. Mechanical design, construction,
and CAD components were provided by UNSW, including Kim Son Dang and Dr Jay
Katupitiya from the School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering and Jean
Geoffroy and Paul Santus from the School of Physics. The university’s Professor
John Smith and Professor Joe Wolfe respectively contributed electronic and music
acoustic expertise. The clarinet will now be used by the UNSW School of Physics’
Acoustics Lab to better understand the gestures of human players.
.A video clip of the robot performing is available at
available upon request.
About NICTA
National ICT Australia Limited (NICTA) is a national research institute with a charter to build Australia’s pre-eminent
Centre of Excellence for information and communications technology (ICT). NICTA is building capabilities in ICT
research, research training and commercialisation in the ICT sector for the generation of national benefit.
National ICT Australia is funded by the Australian Government as represented by the Department of Broadband,
Communications and the Digital Economy and the Australian Research Council through the ICT Centre of Excellence
program.
NICTA was established and is supported by its members: The Australian Capital Territory Government; The
Australian National University; NSW Department of State and Regional Development; and The University of New
South Wales. NICTA is also supported by its partners: the University of Sydney; University of Melbourne; the
Victorian Government; the Queensland Government; Griffith University; Queensland University of Technology; and
The University of Queensland.
For further information:
Dorothy Kennedy
Communications Specialist, NICTA
Ph: 02 8374 5489 or 0488 229 687
Produced & distributed by Medialink Productions on behalf of NICTA
FOR FURTHER TECHNICAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Medialink Productions, Australia – 0418 360 377
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