Robot plays live cello with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra
A robot consisting of two industrial robot arms played a piece as a "guest soloist" together with a Swedish symphony orchestra in front of an audience.
The cello-playing robot and the composer Jacob MĂĽhlrad.
(Image: Malmö Live Konserthus)
A two-armed industrial robot, which had been modified with some 3D-printed parts, played a live concerto on a cello in front of an audience together with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra. The piece was composed especially for the robot by Swedish composer Jacob Mühlrad. The "MSO meets Jacob Mührad" concert took place on October 17 in the Swedish city of Malmö at the Malmö Live Konserthus.
The robot essentially consists of two robotic arms, similar to those used in industry. It has been modified with parts from a 3D printer so that it can hold a cello bow with one arm and grasp the pitches on the instrument's fingerboard with the other. The robot was developed by Swedish researcher and composer Fredrik Gran.
The robot was programmed in the conventional way so that it can only play the piece in one go. There is no artificial intelligence (AI) behind it. Accordingly, the robot can not react to the rest of the orchestra or the conductor, for example. Instead, the orchestra has to adapt to the robot's playing.
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Specially composed for the robot
MĂĽhlrad has adapted the piece of music "Veer" to the robot's capabilities. However, he believes that the robot's possibilities are almost endless. He was eager to explore the limits of a cello by using the robot. Experimenting with the robot was a lot of fun, says MĂĽhlrad. It was exciting for him to use the robot, even though it has a different anatomy to humans. It was exciting for him to find out what is possible when there are different conditions for playing the cello without human hands.
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MĂĽhlrad emphasizes, however, that the human cellist cannot be replaced. This is also evident in the piece of music. The transitions between the individual notes seem rather bumpy, making the robot's cello playing seem less fluid.
(olb)
