Asimo Conducts the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Posted by jamesfrankel on May 30th, 2008
A few weeks ago I mentioned that the Detroit Symphony Orchestra would be conducted by a robot named Asimo on an upcoming concert. Asimo, a Honda spokes”robot” conducted “The Impossible Dream” as a part of a multi-million dollar sponsorship from Honda. Well, he did it - and he wasn’t half bad.
A video posted on YouTube shows the entire event. I have to admit that it was truly eerie to watch this robot walk on stage, interact with the audience and the orchestra, and then start conducting. It is truly strange to see a robot “alive”. It will never get old to me. Once he began conducting the initial reaction by the audience seems to be a slight chuckle. Soon thereafter you forget that this thing is a robot. It actually portrays emotion while conducting and it does a really nice job of conveying tempo and even cues for the musicians. Whoever programmed Asimo did a wonderful job. Will it ever replace a live human? Of course not. But it is a wonderful display of technology (and the fact that orchestras must go through publicity stunts like this to remain in business).
I urge you to share this video with your students and get their reaction. What do they think about it? I’d love to hear from you.
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June 1st, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Thanks for posting this video link…I enjoyed watching. One of the big ironies here is that this robot, developed by a foreign car company, is directing an orchestra from America’s “motor city,” Detroit. Not sure if that means a thing, but I find it amusing.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I am so glad that Asimo’s kinks were worked out from the time it did this: http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/11/honda-asimo-takes-a-nasty-fall/