Abstract
The field of musical robotics presents an interesting case study of the intersection between creativity and robotics. While the potential for machines to express creativity represents an important issue in the field of robotics and AI, this subject is especially relevant in the case of machines that replicate human activities that are traditionally associated with creativity, such as music making. There are several different approaches that fall under the broad category of musical robotics, and creativity is expressed differently based on the design and goals of each approach. By exploring elements of anthropomorphic form, capacity for sonic nuance, control, and musical output, this article evaluates the locus of creativity in six of the most prominent approaches to musical robots, including: 1) nonspecialized anthropomorphic robots that can play musical instruments, 2) specialized anthropomorphic robots that model the physical actions of human musicians, 3) semi-anthropomorphic robotic musicians, 4) non-anthropomorphic robotic instruments, 5) cooperative musical robots, and 6) individual actuators used for their own sound production capabilities.
Highlights
The field of musical robotics presents an interesting case study of the intersection between creativity and robotics
While the potential for machines to express creativity represents an important issue in the field of robotics and AI, this subject is especially relevant in the case of machines that replicate human activities that are traditionally associated with creativity, such as music making
Musical robots are categorized based on how they produce sound (Kapur 2005), how they function as interactive multimodal systems (Solis and Ng 2011), how they developed over history (Murphy et al, 2012; Long et al, 2017), and the ways that they engage in “Robotic Musicianship” (Bretan and Weinberg, 2016)
Summary
The field of musical robotics presents an interesting case study of the intersection between creativity and robotics. There are several different approaches that fall under the broad category of musical robotics, and creativity is expressed differently based on the design and goals of each approach. By exploring elements of anthropomorphic form, capacity for sonic nuance, control, and musical output, this article evaluates the locus of creativity in six of the most prominent approaches to musical robots, including: 1) nonspecialized anthropomorphic robots that can play musical instruments, 2) specialized anthropomorphic robots that model the physical actions of human musicians, 3) semianthropomorphic robotic musicians, 4) non-anthropomorphic robotic instruments, 5) cooperative musical robots, and 6) individual actuators used for their own sound production capabilities
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