A Robot Opera?

Posted 25 Aug 2005 at 16:16 UTC by The Swirling Brain

Robots can do lots of useful things these days, so why can't they provide entertainment? Sure there's destructive entertainment like battlebots, and there's academic robotic competitions which can be entertaining, but the next big thing in robotic entertainment is the Robot Opera! "This will be a contemporary opera performed and sung by robots" says Paul Minotto, composer and founder of the primeTime sublime. Paul claims that operatic robots entertaining humans is nothing new and points to Pavarobotti which is a robot that reproduces Luciano Pavarotti's voice. First, modification of AIBO robot dogs was tried to get them to sing. Now the group is using robots such as the Wakamaru, adding voices and working on problems with interaction. Plans are to add realism of character, identity and personality traits to these robots. He suggests he may program a soprano robot with an inflated ego: a true prima donna. But if you go to the robot opera, don't leave in the middle of it because you do realize it ain't over until the fat lady robot sings!