WAT-R

Musical Robotics – B Term 2021

By: Bryce Bragdon, Nicolas Fish, Mary Marquette, & Darcy Milligan

WAT-R is a water-based instrument that pulls inspiration from chandeliers, wind chimes, and hitting semi-filled glass bottles. The robot is comprised of eight different funnels that can play in the range A#5 to C#7; because the pitch range of the robot is so high it acts more as a pitched percussion instrument. The image below is the chandelier we based our design off of.

This is the chandelier that we based the design of WAT-R on.

The visual aspect of the instrument was very important to us. We tried to make the wiring as inconspicuous as possible, wrapping all the wires in black wire harness tape and keeping them in the center of the instrument. We also wanted the other electrical components to be hidden as well. We had all the servos and solenoids pointed into the center so they are semi-hidden by their respective funnels. To make up for the striking elements of the robot being hidden, we added LEDs that change color when we strike their respective funnels.

This is our final CAD model for our instrument.

Each individual funnel has a platform connected it that holds a servo and a solenoid. The servo is connected to the stopcock and is used to open and close the valve at the bottom of each funnel allowing them to drain (open) or fill (closed). The solenoid is used to strike the funnel. The solenoid is attached to a smaller platform that is suspended above the servo platform by a metal rod. An image of this actuation platform can be seen below.