Chinese scientists develop robot band for traditional music
The band's name "Mojia" comes from the ancient Chinese philosophy Mohism.
BEIJING (Reuters) - A robot band, developed by scientists from China s Tsinghua University, made its debut on Saturday in Beijing, playing with the traditional Chinese instruments.
The band has three members: the graceful Yao Guang, named after the Chinese name of the Alkaid star in the constellation of Ursa Major, plays ancient Chinese harp Konghou; Yu Heng, named after the Chinese name of the Alioth star, is an gentle flute player; and Kai Yang, a passionate drummer, is named after the Chinese name of the Mizar.
The band s name "Mojia" comes from the ancient Chinese philosophy Mohism.
"The Mohism is generally regarded as a school that puts the most emphasis on engineering and technologies in ancient times. Although the philosophy did not continue to develop, many people nowadays still fantasy what kind of technology would come out the Mohist school if it continued to develop, and if the Mohists can develop a Chinese robot, what will it look like. So we decided to complete the cause for them," said Mi Haipeng, associate professor at the Info. Art and Design Department of the Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University.
Mi is a graduate of Tsinghua University, who then studied in Japan and participated in the research and development of the world s first robot rock band.
He returned to China in 2013 to teach in Tsinghua s Academy of Arts and Design, and started to build the Chinese style robot band.
This project integrates intelligent and interactive technology, sculpture art, music and elements from traditional Chinese culture.
Members of the team cover diverse professional backgrounds such as computer, mechanical engineering, modeling and sculpture, and music composition.
Nearly a hundred control points of the three robots enable them to play the musical instruments, and the integration of technology, art and cultural traditions presented viewers an unique and fascinating show.
