Thanks Joe- it's sunny in Glasgow for a change (been sunny for a week now!)
cheers Jason 2008/5/14 /0 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > congrats on the birth of your child. > > good news on a rainy day... > ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "313 list" <313@hyperreal.org> > Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 10:41 AM > Subject: (313) Robot conductor debuts in Detroit > > > > > > > Haven't got much time to contribute at the moment due to early arrival > > of my first baby girl (Laurel Brunton, 1 week old) but had to point > > out this story!! > > > > "When does the conductor answer to the semiconductor? When a robot is > > leading the symphony. > > > > Last night a 4ft-tall automaton with a baton called Asimo conducted > > the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Mitch Leigh's The > > Impossible Dream from the Man from La Mancha. > > > > Asimo (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) greeted the audience with > > the words "hello, everyone," before waving to the orchestra. > > > > Asimo is the latest robot designed by Honda, which has been developing > > walking robots since 1986. > > > > It can run, walk on uneven slopes and respond to simple voice > > commands. It can also recognise faces with its camera eyes. Honda > > eventually intends its robots to be companions for the elderly or to > > assist schoolchildren at road crossings. > > > > But Asimo's musical repertoire is limited. Unable to respond to the > > musicians, last night's performance was a case of elaborate > > "baton-synching", mimicking the actions of a conductor who had been > > videotaped before. > > > > During the first rehearsal, the orchestra lost its place when Asimo > > began to slow the tempo, something a human conductor would have sensed > > and corrected. > > > > "It's not a communicative device. It simply is programmed to do a > > sense of gestures," said Leonard Slatkin, the orchestra's musical > > director. "If the orchestra decides to go faster, there's nothing the > > robot can do about it. Hopefully, I keep that under control." > > > > Nevertheless, Asimo wowed the audience and even impressed some of the > > musicians. "The movements are still a little stiff, but very > > humanlike, much more fluid than I thought," said bassist Larry > > Hutchinson." > > > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/may/14/usa > > > > cheers > > > > Jason > > >
