In 2013, Yuri Suzuki Design Studio was asked for initial concept development for Z-Machines, an all robot music band built to perform beyond the capabilities of the most advanced human musicians.

Conveyed as the 'future of live music', the Z-Machines consist of three robots: A guitar-bot, drummer, and keyboardist, each programmed to play with strong efficacy.

The robot band, who headlined the 2013 Tokyo Maker Faire, lately rose to the likes of British electronic musical icon Squarepusher, who actively collaborated with them on a recent EP called 'Music for Robots'.

The challenge was to design a system that could play emotionally engaging music while rediscovering conventional instruments.

The possibilities of a 78 finger guitarist, or a drummer with 22 arms, although partially explored in this project, suggest there is huge potential for Z-Machines is still to be discovered.