ABB’s Robot Takes the Stage: YuMi Conducts Bocelli and the Lucca Philharmonic Orchestra

YuMi, a true collaborative robot with two arms, the first of its kind in the world, made its debut in opera on Tuesday, September 12, conducting the famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and the Lucca Philharmonic Orchestra at Teatro Verdi in Pisa during a charity concert for the First International Robotics Festival. Over 800 guests from around the world enjoyed a program titled “Breath of Hope: From Stradivari to Robots.” Among the guests was ABB’s CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer, under whose leadership YuMi was developed.

YuMi, produced by the Swiss technology pioneer ABB, was invited to the stage by Andrea Bocelli, who performed the famous aria “La Donna è Mobile” from Verdi’s Rigoletto. During its first evening performance, YuMi conducted works by Puccini and Mascagni.

The robot was trained by Italian conductor Andrea Colombini. YuMi’s performance was developed in two steps. During rehearsals, Colombini’s movements were captured in a process called “lead-through programming,” where the two robotic arms were guided to the movements with great attention to detail. The second step involved fine-tuning the movements in ABB’s RobotStudio program to synchronize the robot’s motions with the music.

“The nuances of the conductor’s movements were fully reproduced at a level that was previously unimaginable to me. This is an incredible step forward, considering the rigidity of previous robots’ movements,” Colombini wrote in his blog.

YuMi is one of the highest forms of robotic technology that is changing the way the world views collaboration between humans and robots. Described as a cooperative, collaborative robot, it is designed to work alongside humans and as a complement to the workforce. Its capabilities have already been proven by successfully solving a Rubik’s Cube.

Conducting, as one of the highest forms of art, and YuMi testify to the natural evolution of humans and machines that can work together in entirely new ways.