A South Korean-made robot made its conducting debut in Seoul on Friday, wowing audiences with a flawless performance.
“EveR 6,” a 1.8-meter-tall android, led more than 60 musicians from the South Korean National Orchestra playing various traditional instruments.
Ever 6 He was able to lead the performers both independently and in collaboration with a human conductor at his side for about half an hour, and amazed the more than 950 concert-goers at the National Theater of Korea.
When he appeared on stage, the robot received a lot of applause and greeted the audience with a bow.
During the performance, her blue eyes focused on the musicians and just nodded her head to the rhythm of the melody.
The rookie performed well, assured some of those present.
“I came here worried that the robot could do it,” Kim Ji-min, a 19-year-old music major, told AFP.
“But I found I was in great harmony with the musicians…” It felt like a whole new world to me,” he said.
While there have been musical performances by robot conductors in the past, including a concert led by the robot YuMi in Italy in 2017, this was the first time South Koreans were able to see one on stage.
Ever 6developed by the state-owned Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, was programmed to replicate human movements using motion capture technology.
However, at the moment he is unable to listen or improvise in real time.
Its developers are currently working to enable the robot to perform gestures that aren’t pre-programmed, said Lee Dong-wook, the robot’s engineer.