Week 11: Looking for a Voight-Kampff machine?

http://weburbanist.com/2008/11/18/10-of-the-worlds-weirdest-craziest-and-most-useful-robots/

Jeopardy Clew: These 4 images.

Jeopardy Question: What are robots?

This week I listened to an eloquent speech on the benefits of music education.  The presentation led me to speculate as to whether any of the robots cited in last week’s blog could play music and if it would be something that can distinguish them from humans; a Voight-Kampff machine. 

Initially my researches over the internet led me to a technical document where a robot plays a Theremin, http://eecs.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/CIS/pubs/FSR99-musicRobot.pdf.  It was all technical with few images for posting to a blog.  Upon further researching I came up with a second article with images of a robot playing a Theremin Player; http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=5354473.  The Theremin is actually the early precursor to modern RFID technology. 

While the Theremin was popular in the early 1900’s could a robot play an instrument commonly in use today?  Looking further I found a robot with lungs and lips, capable of playing the “Flight of the Bumble Bee” on a flute.  http://www.technologyreview.com/video/?vid=136 .  Not only does the website have pictures but a video of how the robot works; a point worthy to place in a blog.  This robot is said to be able to teach a beginning music student on how to play the instrument.  Then I came upon the Web Urbanist – 10 of the Most Innovative Modern Robot Designs, as pictured above with the link.  Not only is Big Dog featured but there is a robot which resembles a person. 

It appears the technology will soon exist for the building of robots that will strongly resemble people with the capability to play musical instruments.   But will science be able to create mechanical beings with the ability to compose music?  While there is a certain amount of mathematics involved, can science replicate the human experience?  And translate it into song and verse?  I return to the music group Pink Floyd: http://pinkfloyd.com/music/albums.php.  Could a robot make an album like “Pink Floyd The Wall?”  And if so, would it be considered artistic?  This ability may differentiate future robots from humans until bio-technology and as yet to be discovered technologies blur the line. 

“To err is human; to forgive, divine.”
by Alexander Pope

I wonder what Pope would have written about robots?

Quaestionem Semper, – CDamian (11-22-11)