The actuality of mechatronic music and instruments
In this article, I explore which cultural actors and artistic disciplines are involved in the development of mechatronic musical instruments. As an introduction, I briefly explain what mechatronic instruments are. In conclusion, I discuss the numerous, confusing names for these instruments. Thus, in this text I delve deeper into three questions: What are mechatronic musical instruments? How relevant are they today? What names are currently in use? In this article, the term “instruments” should be understood in a very broad sense: it also includes sound sculptures and sound installations.
In a mechatronic instrument, a sound-producing object (or a part of it) is struck, blown upon, or set in motion by a motor, electromagnet, or pneumatic component. This process is controlled and regulated by digital electronics (a microcontroller, i.e., a minicomputer). Examples include: a microcontroller causes an electromagnet to strike a drumhead with a drumstick; a mini-computer controls the motor of a blower (compressor) that blows through organ pipes; a computer-controlled electromagnet opens or closes a valve in the air supply to a single organ pipe, etc. This description (“moving a sound object via digital control”) automatically implies that a significant part of the sound production is acoustic. The instrument is thus a hybrid blend of old, mechanical, and newer, digital technology. A musician or performer can also play a mechatronic instrument live; it does not have to be used solely to play back music. This is an important (artistic) difference from older, mechanical automata (such as a player piano).
The first mechatronic musical instruments emerged around 1978 (see article). The artistic discipline in which mechatronic techniques have made the greatest inroads is likely sound art, particularly the branch in which artists create sound installations and sound sculptures. Over the past 25 years, mechatronic components have become an integral part of sound installations. To give a few recent examples: the works of artists Zimoun and Pelang often feature large numbers of cardboard or paper objects that move via computer control, thereby producing noise; computer-controlled faucets (with water droplets) or sewing machines form sound installations by the Canadian artist Martin Messier; the installation Organism by Navid Navab and Garnet Willis (winners of the Prix Ars Electronica 2025) is a collage of multiple (registers of) mechatronic organs. Artists who have been designing mechatronic sound installations since the twentieth century include Godfried-Willem Raes (Logos Foundation), Martin Riches, Jacques Rémus, Christof Schlaeger, and Trimpin.
In the world of music performance and composition, mechatronic instruments are also used, but to a much more limited extent than in sound art. Examples of musicians include GamutInc, Pat Metheny, or in Belgium, Toon Quanten, Hans Beckers, Walter Hus, and the musicians who work with the music robots of the Logos Foundation. Mechatronic instruments are used not only on stage but also in studios to record separate tracks for pop songs, compositions, or film music. Musicians such as Stef Kamiel Carlens, Aphex Twin, and Alain Van Zeveren have, for example, had trumpets and percussion instruments built by the Logos Foundation for their studio productions. This studio technique dates back to the 1980s when the first computer-controlled piano models appeared.
Most research into (new) mechatronic instruments over the past decades has taken place in the United States and New Zealand (Victoria University of Wellington). The musician-engineer Ajay Kapur serves as the link between these two countries: he works at both Victoria University of Wellington (NZ) and CalArts (US). The latter university also offers programs in Mechatronic Art & Music. Other research groups in the U.S. include the Center for Music Technology (Georgia Institute of Technology) with researcher Gil Weinberg and the Mason Gross School of the Arts (U.S.) with Steven Kemper. Overall, this research is very limited when compared to the time and resources invested in research on digital loudspeaker music and audio DSP.
Commercial companies that develop and sell computer-controlled instruments have emerged and continue to emerge. Yamaha’s Disklavier (a mechatronic piano) is the best-known example. Other piano models include the Steinway Spirio and the Bösendorfer SE, Bösendorfer CEUS, and Bösendorfer Disklavier (as well as variants from other companies). Over the past decade, small companies have emerged (often centered around a single researcher or musician), attempting to design and sell new mechatronic instruments. Kuzma is one such young American company that has developed a computer-controlled guitar. Between 2015 and 2021, the Polish company Polyend sold computer-controlled percussion modules that were attached to cymbals, toms, or other sound-producing objects. The Belgian company Orchestrionix (founded in 2023 from the former Decap, which built automatic organs and orchestrions) manufactures computer-controlled organs and plans to offer automated percussion and wind instruments in the future. The American company QRS—with a history in the automatic piano industry—also plans to launch a mechatronic trumpet soon. The companies that have built hyperorgans (= mechatronic organs) for churches and concert halls over the past 15 years are primarily based in Germany: Sinua and Hermann Eule Orgelbau.
A recent trend involves large event organizers that, over the past decade, have sought out mechatronic instruments to provide entertainment for amusement parks, vacation resorts, hotels, festivals, major trade shows, and so on (in line with the entertainment tradition of, for example, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room). They are primarily looking for small orchestras or ensembles of mechatronic instruments that automatically play songs or compositions and entertain the audience. International agencies that organize this include, for example, Meow Wolf, DXB Live, or Our Legacy Creations.
As is often the case with technology or developments currently in full swing, the terminology for these new developments is somewhat confusing or vague. In this text, I use the term “mechatronic” instruments—a portmanteau of mechanical and electronic. This term has been in use in the research community for about fifteen years. This includes musical instruments or sound installations in which a significant, substantial part of the instrument is mechanical, while the instrument itself also incorporates digital technology (microcontrollers, sensors, etc.) and can be digitally programmed. The significant mechanical component very often relates to the sound production, so the instrument produces an acoustic sound and is simultaneously computer-controlled.
To wrap things up, I’ll address the confusing terminology. In practice, there are many terms that (sometimes) refer to mechatronic instruments. Here is a list of the most common terms, along with their meanings and backgrounds:
(version: June 8, 2026, Hans Roels)