{"426761":{"#nid":"426761","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Musical Robots to Play Kennedy Center Gig","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA team of robots and researchers from Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Music Technology is headed to Washington, D.C., to play a concert at the historic Kennedy Center. Professor Gil Weinberg and his machines, Shimon and three Shimi robots, will perform July 22 on the Center\u2019s Millennium Stage. The performance is part of the Smithsonian Institution and Kennedy Center\u2019s 25\/40 celebration, which commemorates the 25\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 40\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E year of VSA, the international organization on arts and disability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey\u2019ll also be joined onstage by \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2014\/03\/05\/robotic-prosthesis-turns-drummer-three-armed-cyborg\u0022\u003Epercussionist Jason Barnes\u003C\/a\u003E, who wears a prosthetic drumming arm invented by Weinberg. Rounding out the robotics super group will be Director of Georgia Tech Athletic Bands \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtband.net\/\u0022\u003EChris Moore\u003C\/a\u003E, Ph.D. candidate \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.masonbretan.com\/\u0022\u003EMason Bretan\u003C\/a\u003E, bassist Michael Bowie and trumpet player Dovonte McCoy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWeinberg said the hour-long performance will begin with Shimon and Shimi \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/robots-road\u0022\u003Edoing what they do best\u003C\/a\u003E - improvising and playing music based on artificial intelligence and algorithms. But this 30-minute jam session represents a gigantic step forward in the robots\u2019 musical abilities, Weinberg said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s the first time, ever, that we will play a full evening program,\u201d he said. \u201cMy research has always been about, \u2018Let\u2019s try this algorithm, let\u2019s see if the robot can understand this way or improvise that way.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor seven years, Weinberg has experimented with Shimon\u2019s artificial intelligence, teaching the robot to play a marimba while improvising and reacting to live musicians. Now, Shimon, the Shimis and crew will perform original music that showcases their signature blend of human and machine. Weinberg, Bretan and Moore have written six original pieces for the performance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the halfway point of the show, Barnes will join the group on stage. That\u2019s when Weinberg will explain to the audience that all the technology they\u2019ve witnessed in the first part of the show is actually inspiring similar technology for people with disabilities - as evidenced by Barnes\u2019 cyborg drumming arm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBarnes has become a more expressive drummer through the help of the drumming arm, Weinberg said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHe can play things that humans can\u2019t play, anything from speed to complexity,\u201d said Weinberg.\u0026nbsp; \u201cThe pieces Jason plays will start as soft and detailed and sophisticated. They\u2019ll grow to something much crazier, upbeat, showing the speeds and polyrhythms and all the unique things that only this arm can play.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, Weinberg said, the focus of the 25\/40 performance is making music that is emotional. Up until now the value of the music Shimon made was for research purposes, but this music is to entertain an audience and have more traditional artistic merit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt actually got to the point where we can think about the music and how to create beautiful, expressive, emotional music that will touch people. Of course, AI is always there, but now it\u2019s not the only thing that\u2019s there.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWritten by Ann Hoevel, College of Architecture\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA team of robots and researchers from Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Music Technology is headed to Washington, D.C., to play a concert at the historic Kennedy Center. Professor Gil Weinberg and his machines, Shimon and three Shimi robots, will perform July 22 on the Center\u2019s Millennium Stage. The performance is part of the Smithsonian Institution and Kennedy Center\u2019s 25\/40 celebration, which commemorates the 25\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 40\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E year of VSA, the international organization on arts and disability.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A team of robots and researchers plays at the historic Kennedy Center Wednesday."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2015-07-20 16:00:26","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:12","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-07-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-07-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"425401":{"id":"425401","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech\u0027s robot\/cyborg band","body":null,"created":"1449254319","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:38:39","changed":"1475895165","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:45","alt":"Georgia Tech\u0027s robot\/cyborg band","file":{"fid":"202758","name":"robotcyborgband_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/robotcyborgband_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/robotcyborgband_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":90570,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/robotcyborgband_0_0.jpg?itok=a_nARrzF"}},"426751":{"id":"426751","type":"image","title":"Shimon and Shimi","body":null,"created":"1449254342","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:39:02","changed":"1475895165","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:45","alt":"Shimon and Shimi","file":{"fid":"202776","name":"shimon_and_shimi_fixed_blue.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shimon_and_shimi_fixed_blue_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shimon_and_shimi_fixed_blue_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2471639,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/shimon_and_shimi_fixed_blue_0.jpg?itok=9vWKO9d8"}},"379771":{"id":"379771","type":"image","title":"Gil Weinberg","body":null,"created":"1449246214","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:23:34","changed":"1475894388","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:48","alt":"Gil Weinberg","file":{"fid":"75250","name":"gweinberg-1327_smaller.jpg.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gweinberg-1327_smaller.jpg.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gweinberg-1327_smaller.jpg.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":128231,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gweinberg-1327_smaller.jpg.jpeg?itok=YRjpQx9M"}},"281101":{"id":"281101","type":"image","title":"Robotic Drumming Prosthesis In Use","body":null,"created":"1449244184","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:44","changed":"1475894973","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:33","alt":"Robotic Drumming Prosthesis In Use","file":{"fid":"198929","name":"12909815203_4419c1f6e6_b.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/12909815203_4419c1f6e6_b_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/12909815203_4419c1f6e6_b_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":139582,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/12909815203_4419c1f6e6_b_0.jpg?itok=8saGkER7"}}},"media_ids":["425401","426751","379771","281101"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1939","name":"Gil Weinberg"},{"id":"1356","name":"robot"},{"id":"168949","name":"Shimi"},{"id":"169304","name":"Shimon"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003ENational Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-276-1643\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}