Research Symposium

BIO

Hello! I am a second-year student from Dallas, Texas studying Management Information Systems. My goal is to make people's lives easier and more efficient with technology. To that end, I'm fascinated by projects and topics that attempt to use technology in new and innovative ways, solving problems that exist in various fields or problems that might not even exist at all yet. I hope to take this innovative approach to technology with me into the workforce.

Teaching a Robot to Conduct the Band

Abstract

Digit is a humanoid robot fitted with technology that allows it to accomplish rather complex tasks. In this project, we explore Digit’s capabilities by using it to emulate the motions of a marching band conductor. Conducting patterns are complex and vary with both time signature and tempo. Digit is well suited to conducting, as it can carry out exact motions with precise, precalculated timing. However, conductors must sometimes change their patterns rapidly and on the fly, requiring not only the ability to maintain a steady beat, but also the ability to be flexible and improvise. The main challenge of this project is the implementation of conducting patterns to Digit's hardware. Using open source motion capture software, we translated a simple 4/4 conducting pattern from a real human conductor into 3-dimensional coordinate data. Using an ID controller designed by the Optimal Robotics Lab, this data was then used to calculate and optimize the path of Digit’s arms. A separate system was then designed to allow manual human control and adjustment of Digit’s tempo. In the future, we would like to allow Digit to perform more complex patterns as well as musical cues. Eventually, we hope to test our work by arranging for Digit to conduct a performance of a collegiate marching band.

Keywords: Robotics, Engineering, Three-Dimensional Modeling, Music