Robot Conducts Human Orchestra in Sharjah

Humanoid robot Alter 3 stirred up a storm as it guided a symphony of orchestra’s players during the live performance of Japanese composer Keiichiro Shibuya’s opera “Scary Beauty” in the Emirate of Sharjah.

The robot had a humanoid face, hands, and lower arms with passion as it bounces up and down and rotates.

Talking about the performance, Shibuya stated: “This work is a metaphor of the relations between humans and technology. Sometimes the android will get crazy, human orchestras have to follow. But sometimes humans can cooperate very comfortably,”.

[caption id="attachment_108264" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Humanoid robot Alter 3[/caption]

Shibuya wrote the music, but the android controlled the tempo and volume of the show and even sang at times.

“The premise is that the android itself is moving according to its own will,” said its technician Kotobuki Hikaru.

The music lyrics were based on literary texts from  Beat Generation's writer William Burroughs and French author Michael Houellebecq.

It examines the relationship between humans and technology and considers our growing dependence on technological inventions.

“The robots and AI that exist now are not at all complete. The focus of my interest... is what happens when this incomplete technology comes together with art,” he added.

[caption id="attachment_108265" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Humanoid robot Alter 3[/caption]

It is worth mentioning that Alter 3 was created by Osaka University roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro and University of Tokyo artificial life researcher Takashi Ikegami.

The pair had been working for four years on this endeavor that combines their respective fields.

An early version of the performance was presented for the first time in 2017 by a prototype android.

[caption id="attachment_108266" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Humanoid robot Alter 3[/caption]

In 2018, Alter 2 made its world premiere in Tokyo at a conference on artificial life, which was created by Robot scientist Hiroshi Ishiguro, who teaches at Osaka University and runs on an AI programme by Takashi Ikegami from the University of Tokyo.

Shibuya had collaborated with Warner Music Japan and mixi. Inc to add software developments for Alter 3.