These Flying Robots Play Musical Instruments, And The Effect Is Mesmerizing (VIDEO)

Who knew robots could rock out?

In a melodious new video from YouTube user TheDmel, a team of flying six-rotor robots play keyboards, drums, bells, and a sort of one-string slide guitar called a "Diddley bow" to create a surprisingly impressive rendition of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (used to famous effect in the 1968 sci-fi classic "2001: A Space Odyssey") and other tunes.

It's quite the performance. As Youtube user Murray Galbraith commented, "These guys are about to make the internet explode."

The bots are the creation of KMel Robotics, and they aren't the firm's first musical drones. KMel once used a swarm of quadrotor robots to put on an impressive sound and light show.

How do the robots work their musical magic? Each has its position dialed in to the millimeter, and the ensemble is controlled by a remote computer that acts like a sort of electronic puppeteer.

The hexrotor robots are slated to perform live in Washington, D.C. this weekend at the USA Science and Engineering Festival.

Rock on.