Android Previn
Robot conducts top orchestra
WHEN it comes to exuberant gestures, there’s little chance this newcomer to the world of classical music will rival the likes of Andre Previn.
But when Andrea Bocelli and the Lucca Philharmonic Orchestra took to the stage in Pisa, for once all attention was not on the Italian tenor but his mechanical maestro.
YuMi, a robot built by Swiss firm ABB, took the baton for three of 18 pieces on Tuesday, directing a rousing rendition of Verdi’s La Donna e Mobile from Rigoletto. Using recorded music, the £30,000 machine was programmed to mimic Lucca Philharmonic founder and conductor Andrea Colombini, who said YuMi replicated his movement to an ‘unthinkable degree’.
But like the first robot conductor Asimo in 2008, YuMi is unlikely to replace humans any time soon as he cannot pick up on changes in tempo. This would be particularly disastrous for Bocelli, who is blind and sensitive to variations.