A few years ago, designers from Yamaha Corp and Yamaha Motor switched for a while – the instrument designers tasked with creating motorcycles, and the moto designers challenged to come up with musical instruments. For the company's &Y project, engineers from both have collaborated on concept models, the latest being a music device made of vehicle parts.
The &Y03 eMotion Tracks concept was created for the Yamaha Design Exhibition due to kick off on October 12 at O-Yane Plaza in Tokyo's Roppongi Hills complex.
As it's name might suggest, the &Y03 is the third collaborative project in the series. The first was a power-assisted electric wheelchair that performs music and the second was an "auditory movement experience device."
The device is made up of the tires and wheels of a motorcycle, a tire and wheel from the Motoroid prototype, a tire and wheel from its Tritown concept, a tire and wheel from a wheelchair, the steering mechanism from a motorboat and the prop of an outboard.
Yamaha told us that the four wheel/tire combos out front act as interfaces to control the music. Different melodies have been assigned to each tire, with the performer turning the wheel to start a melody. Turning a wheel a little further dials in FX, changing the music being produced by the &Y03. The steering mechanism controls left/right pan, while the prop to the top of a nut-shaped box to the rear spins to the beat and helps create a funky light show.
Visitors to the exhibition will be able to see the &Y03 jam along with a player piano and automated drums. Other Yamaha prototypes, concepts and products on show at the free-to-enter exhibition include the Motoroid automated riding mobility system, a Pianica designed for grownups, some pedelec e-bikes, a new acoustic wind instrument and a 3-seater marine jet.
Yamaha has promised a video of the &Y03 later in October, which we'll add when available.
Update October 17, 2018: Yamaha has now released a Tracks exhibition highlights video, which you can watch below.
Source: Yamaha
