On October 17, a two-armed robot played cello onstage in southern Sweden with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, an event that Swedish composer Jacob Mühlrad calls the first of its kind.
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.
Mühlrad 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 Mühlrad. 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.
Heise.de
Will robots replace human cellists anytime soon? Probably not—thankfully. Heise Online reports that composer Jacob Mühlrad himself insists that "the human cellist cannot be replaced." Heise Online also explains, to nobody's surprise, that the music played by the robot wasn't as good as what a professional musician would create, stating, "The transitions between the individual notes seem rather bumpy, making the robot's cello playing seem less fluid."
Previously:
• This robot plays Jenga to demonstrate the future of manufacturing
