Robots can play music now?!

[Taco-Calamitous]

A guitarist named Mach, a drummer named Ashura, and a keyboardist named Cosmo may sound part and parcel of your regular rock band. But once you see that this particular guitarist has 78 fingers and 12 guitar picks, the drummer rocks out with 22 sticks, and the keyboard player shoots laser beams out of its eyes, it can only be one thing – Japan’s all-robot rock band “Z-Machines.” The mechanical trio took the stage in Tokyo on Monday with pop girl duo Amoyamo, performing to a select crowd of nearly 100 people – Z-Machines’ first live “gig”.

Z-Machines is one of Zima’s concoctions, although the Japanese alcoholic beverage brand is more famous for the drinkable kind. The robotic rock band is part of Zima’s new marketing push. The minds behind the robotic design are Yoichiro Kawaguchi, IT professor at the University of Tokyo, and designer Naofumi Yonetsuka, who specializes in robotic mechanics. Yonetsuka himself designed and created the guitarist and the drummer, the latter with six arms capable of hitting 22 different percussion points. “What Ashura (the drummer) plays is the equivalent of four people playing drums,” Yonetsuka said during the concert. Kawaguchi said that the keyboard player Cosmo is “in the shape of a super-evolved fish”, designed to accompany the other two musicians in the project.

The group’s debut song is a techno piece called “Post People, Post Party”, written and arranged exclusively for Z-Machines by renowned Japanese electronica icon DJ Tasaka. Tasaka said that initially he had a disco-electro type song in mind, but was challenged when he saw how technically sophisticated the robots were. “So then I wrote a new song, much more complicated, thinking, ‘take that’,” said DJ Tasaka, “but then they were able to play it.” The famous DJ said that the three robots in Z-Machines have the ability to create sounds that are impossible to achieve for three human musicians.

Source

I had no idea robotic technology was already this sophisticated. Is this real? Are we really living in a world where robots now play music? Craziness. I think it's pretty cool though. Thus I thought I'd share. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[noxious.sunshine]

Japan also tried to come off with a CG Japanese idol.. Ai something. back in like 03. I'll see if I can dig it up. not as sophisticated as a full on robot rock band, but whatever.

I don't trust this robotics thing. I'm too afraid of them going heywire and attacking people.

~ AUTO-MERGED POSTS ~

edit: no it's not this chick they've been promoting back in like last yr...

she's like a CG animated Rinoa/dead or alive type deal. shit. I can't think of her name....

[Lacquer Head]

Vocaloids? Miku

[che]

Of course robots can play music. Haven't you heard of Daft Punk?!

[Rowan]

[noxious.sunshine]

I can't think of it and it's driving me nuts! She had -one- song.

EDIT:

It's a "girl" older than Hatsune Miku. She had like short black hair I think. Finding the song was a bitch and I can't even remember where I found out about her. Like I said, this was wayyyy back in like 2003 or so.

EDIT 2:
KYOKO DATE. She was created in 1997.



And alllll the cheesiness that goes along with it. Oddly enough I found this shit catchy back then. -_-; Kinda embarrassing.