Robot Takes the Conductor’s Podium in South Korea On Friday evening, South Korea’s National Orchestra was conducted by an android robot called EveR 6, in a pioneering event. The two-armed robot, designed by the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, bowed to the audience, and then controlled the tempo of the live show with its waving arms. Although it moved with precision, the audience found the robot lacking in the “breath” or the ability to keep the orchestra ready to engage collectively and instantly, which is essential in performance.

EveR 6’s “critical weakness”, according to the conductor Choi Soo-yeoul, is that it cannot listen. To be able to do the job properly, the robot needs to be equipped with artificial intelligence to analyze the music. But even in its current form, the robot proved that it can co-exist and complement humans in a performance rather than one replacing the other. Though the robot’s performance appeared to be at an elementary level, the audience felt that it was a successful attempt at combining technology and art. Such experiments, if further developed, could open up a world of possibilities in the field of music and beyond.