Awesome Electromechanical

This electromechanical plaything from Nikola Toy automatically steadies itself and balances on its point. Its curved Reuleaux triangle shape allows it to teeter while sensors, circuitry, and a spinning wheel help hold its position. It also has built-in RGB LED lighting.

AI tools like ChatGPT are incredibly powerful. Backed by large language models, these systems can create convincingly detailed text, write code, and answer questions. Interaction designer Arvind Sanjeev turned a Brother electric typewriter into an interface to GPT-3. Users can type a prompt, and the AI types its response on the same sheet of paper.

For those unfamiliar with the One Hacker Band, it’s a roomful of electromechanical musical instruments created and programmed by Aaron Todd. For this performance, he programmed his robotic band to play Video Killed the Radio Star, the 1979 Buggles song that launched MTV and kicked off the music video era.

There’s a good reason that pinball machines are so expensive. These hand-assembled games incorporate multiple circuit boards, complicated wiring harnesses, and hundreds of parts. Technology Connections starts with a brief look at a 1990s pinball machine, then dives in deep to explain the amazing engineering of a vintage electromechanical machine.

Digital clocks typically use LCD or LED screens to display the time. The Rantoge clock uses electro-mechanical components instead. Each digit on the clock is made from a set of flat metal segments, flipped into place using motorized levers. The DIY clock kit blew through its funding goal on Japan’s Machi-Ya crowdfunding site and is heading into production now.

While we have gotten some enjoyment from robots playing music, they’ll never replace human artistry. Engineer Michael Kuzma created his self-playing guitar to see how far he could push electromechanical music-making. Samurai Guitarist sat down with Kuzma to hear about its development and to listen to what the robot is capable of.

The electromechanical band known as Device Orchestra returns with another fun cover song. They used just three instruments to replicate the AC/DC track Thunderstruck. This time, the electric toothbrushes and credit card terminal are running on battery power, so they really should just be called DC.

Musician Peter Bence has wowed us before with his masterful melding of piano playing and digital looping. Here, he shows how it’s possible to play a complicated piece of music that would normally require four hands, but his high-tech Steinway player piano takes over half of the keyboard once he gets going.

We’ve seen a couple of Hans Andersson’s unique digital clocks in the past. Now he’s back with another intriguing design that uses servo-powered layers and colored dots to tell the time. Each layer needs just three faces to form all 10 digits. As the digits rotate into view, all we can think of was how it looks like a Rubik’s Cube.

We’ve seen some unique clocks and timers, but this is the first time we’ve seen one that displays time using the kind of metal filings you’d find in a Wooly Willy toy. B.B. Korry created this electromechanical clock which uses a grid of electromagnets to attract and release iron filings to count down seconds. It’s really loud, though.

There’s no escape; I can’t wait. The exceptional electromechanical Device Orchestra is back to perform another pop music hit. This time, the band of electric toothbrushes, credit card terminals, and typewriters were joined by an Epilator hair remover which added a spinny new sound to the Britney Spears track Toxic.

Musician Demin Vladimir created this electromechanical rig plays an acoustic guitar. It has one set of actuators that hold the frets while others strum the strings. It’s not the most expressive instrument, but neither were vintage player pianos, and we still love those. He’s also built an accordion that plays the notes itself.

We’re suckers for electromechanical displays like those airport boards and flip clocks. Maker Shinsaku Hiura created an unusual take on the idea by replacing the usual digits with numbered playing cards. Mechanically, it works like other flip clocks, but this one shows the time on top and the bottom half displays card backs.

It’s no Floppotron 3.0, but DJthefirst’s self-playing electromechanical dulcimer has got some serious soul. Put your headphones on, crank up the volume, hit play, and enjoy this soothing rendition of the Kate Bush track Running up That Hill (A Deal with God).

The recently upgraded Floppotron 3.0 is here to show off just how much better it sounds now that it has more than 500 floppy drives at its core. The precision-orchestrated machines channel Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon with aplomb with a cover of the 1984 track I Want to Break Free.

It might not have 512 floppy drives, but the Device Orchestra has plenty of heart (and googly eyes). So crank up the volume, and get your day started right with a performance of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now that will have you buzzing like an electric toothbrush.

It was just yesterday that we paid our respects to Floppotron 2.0. As we hoped, Paweł Zadrożniak was at work building an even bigger and better electromechanical band. Floppotron 3.0 has 512 floppy disk drives, 16 hard disks, and four flatbed scanners for a richer and fuller sound than its predecessors.

Paweł Zadrożniak’s electromechanical orchestra has entertained millions with over 120 covers of popular songs. Now, the Floppotron 2.0 is being retired, and Paweł is sending it off with a performance of Andrea Bocelli’s Con Te Partirò, and there’s not a dry eye in the house. We’re hoping he’s just making room for Floppotron 3.0.

Yunchul Kim created this kinetic sculpture which looks like some sort of segmented alien robot. The work represents the infinite nature of creation and extinction, with each of its parts made from acrylic, flexible LED panels, and motors. It’s on display at the 59th International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy through 11.27.22.

Split-flap displays used to be common in everything from tabletop clocks to arrival and departure boards at airports. While not as popular these days, these electro-mechanical displays are still marvels of engineering. Scottbez1 walks us through how they work with a demonstration of his single-digit Arduino-controlled display.