Artificially Intelligent Band Formed by Tesla Coils

Posted on Apr 21st 2008 12:30PM by James Sullivan
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In Jim Jarmusch's 'Coffee and Cigarettes,' the White Stripes appeared in a segment called 'Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil.' They'd long since broken up as a couple; to Jack's dismay, he has a hard time getting Meg interested in his Tesla coil.

In the real world of science fiction, Tesla coils may now be powering up to make the Jack Whites of the world superfluous: A group of Texas science geeks have made two "singing" Tesla coils the focal point of a preprogrammed, artificially intelligent band.

The engineers in ArcAttack have created a 45-minute set featuring the crackling Tesla coils humming singsong melodies, accompanied by a robotic drumkit and a self-playing pipe organ crafted from PVC pipe. "People love it," says Joe DiPrima, a UT engineer. This despite the fact that people are eerily unnecessary to the performance.

One thing this band can guarantee that the living, breathing ones sometimes can't: When they get together, sparks fly.

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