In a historic moment that left traditionalists in awe, a humanoid-faced robot took center stage as a conductor in South Korea, captivating an audience of 950 people.
The robot, EveR 6, boldly led a band of 60 musicians playing traditional Korean instruments while swinging its arms and making delicate head gestures while standing on a podium.
EveR 6 was introduced at the National Theatre of Korea in Seoul, where it was created by the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH). The robot, who was five feet tall (1.8 metres), captivated the crowd with its mastery of directing.
According to Lee Dong-wook from KITECH, who oversaw the creation of the robot, EveR 6 is programmed to carry out specified actions even though it is not an artificial intelligence (AI) generative robot like ChatGPT. Through sensor attachments, the robot uses motion capture technology to digitally capture the baton trajectory of a conductor.
Lee discussed his ideas to connect EveR 6 with AI, imagining a situation in which a conductor could use the robot as an assistant and precisely order particular beats.
Performance at a “Elementary Level”: On the evening of June 30, three of the five musical pieces were conducted by a robot. Choi Soo-yeoul, a Korean conductor, and I co-conducted one of the concerts.
Choi praised the robot’s ability to replicate detailed conductor movements, stating, “The robot was able to present such detailed moves much better than I had imagined.” However, he pointed out that EveR 6’s “critical weakness” is its inability to listen.
The performance elicited a range of responses from the audience. Song In-ho, who is 62 years old, said the robot’s conducting was simple. The partnership between the robot and musicians, in contrast, was well-received by music student Kim Ji-Min, who saw it as a tremendous challenge and a window into a new universe.
It’s crucial to remember that humanoid robots directing orchestras is not a new phenomena, despite the fact that several papers speculate about the possibility of replacing people with robots. Identical performances have occurred all around the world.
Asimo, a Honda robot, led an orchestra in 2008. YuMi, a dual-arm robot, led a classical orchestra in Switzerland in 2017. In the years that followed, Japan also saw the emergence of Alter 2 and Alter 3, the second- and third-generation AI robots, respectively.
Discussions regarding the nexus of technology and creativity are sparked by the continued pushing of boundaries in the integration of robotics and music.