Robot swan dances to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake

The Swedes have created a robotic swan that dances to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. From the CultureLab’s Oct 8, 2010 posting (Robot prima ballerina debuts) on the New Scientist website,

Computer scientist Lars Asplund from Mälardalen University in Västerås, Sweden, and theatre director Kerstin Gauffin, at the university’s Eskilstuna campus, came up with the idea when discussing how close machines can come to being human.

“We wanted to show that robots aren’t just industrial, functional machines,” explains Asplund. “We can actually connect with them emotionally.”

The 1-metre tall robot has 19 joints, making it just flexible enough to do ballet. Professional dancer and choreographer Åsa Unander-Scharin created the 4-minute dance routine to the Swan Lake remix.

“The dance routine is extremely well done,” says Gauffin. “Nobody will be able resist the desperation, beauty and fragility in this swan, which is fighting for its life.” She thinks it’s a shame that robots are often associated with war and industry.

The robot ballerina premiered at a book fair in Gothenberg, Sweden, Sept. 23, 2010 (more from the CultureLab article).

Gauffin says that most people were fascinated with it, but that the hectic and noisy environment at the book fair might not be the ideal place to experience the routine.

They must have had some test performances before the first one for the general public at the book fair because Clay Dillow’s Sept. 21, 2010 article on the PopSci website provides a contrasting view of audience reactions,

In America, the animalistic automatons at Chuck E. Cheese entertain (and sometimes terrify) children with their inelegant, slack-jawed singing, spastic motions, and soulless, lifeless eyes. It’s a stark contrast with Sweden, where a robot swan is literally moving people to tears with a four-minute, professionally choreographed routine, dramatically executed to Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake.” [emphasis mine]

The Dying Swan moves sometimes gently, sometimes with energetic passion, but apparently always beautifully, leading the few people who have witnessed its dance to describe it with words like “touching” and “beautiful.” In other words, its display conjures adjectives not usually associated with the motions of a robot.

If you’re curious, here’s a video of the robot swan performing Swan Lake,

I found the piece poignant although some pointe work is needed.

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