An Agile Two-Armed Robot Plays Cello and Double Bass

Swedish composer Frederik Gran built an incredibly agile two-armed robot that can play bowed instruments such as the cello and the double bass. Like a human, one arm does the fretting and the other draws the bow across the strings. This anthropomorphic robot also tightens and rosins the bow before playing and can even handle a human at the same time.

The ‘robot cellist’, a non-human entity at the intersection of performer and instrument, consists of two industrial robotic arms playing a cello. …The robot cellist has developed individual playing style and techniques along with a reflexive compositional perspective.

via Everlasting Blort

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.