These music robots, The Hubos, may not be ready to replace The Beatles, but they are hot on the heals of the Blue Man Group.
The HUBOs, from Drexel’s Music & Entertainment Technology Laboratory, are operating autonomously (not human-controlled). Their movements are directed by student-developed software to perform the gestures necessary to produce the appropriate notes and beats as dictated by a musical score. Every sound in the video was performed by the robots.
In the video, four of Drexel’s HUBO robots perform the Beatles’ Come Together.
MET-lab student Matthew Prockup created the musical arrangement for drum kit and three “Hubophones”, percussion instruments designed and constructed by the lab for this performance.
The performance was part of Drexel’s Engineer’s Week.
I actually find the robotic singing very pleasant.
My next band/project has got to be called Cruelty To Robots. Thanks to the Hubos, my dear friend Anna, who suggested it and the movie rating system which gave the Will Smith movie version of Asimov’s “I,Robot” a PG rating