This new plug ‘n’ play kit lets you create your own robotic band

If you’ve ever watched one of those videos of MIDI-controlled ‘robots’ playing instruments on YouTube and thought, ‘I quite fancy setting something like that up, but I don’t have a clue where to start,’ the dadamachines automat toolkit could be right up your street.

Currently on Kickstarter, the dadamachines automat toolkit gives you everything you need to create your own robot band. At the heart of the system is the automat controller, which features MIDI In and USB sockets that can be used to connect up your controller and computer/tablet so that MIDI data can be received. There are then 12 DC outputs that can be used to trigger your motors, solenoids, LEDs or anything else.

The standard kit includes the controller, a power supply, three solenoids and three mic stand adapters, and can be had with a €299 pledge. You can also get the controller on its own for the early bird price of €169, or pledge €89 for just the controller board.

The dadamachines hardware is open source and hackable, and the project has already blasted through its funding target. Find out more on the Kickstarter page.