Robot takes centre stage

Japan has played host to the world’s first play featuring a robot as an actor.

Osaka University played host to the first play of its kind – one featuring a robot as an actor.

Called Hataraku Watashi (I, Worker), the play focuses on a couple and their two housekeeping robots where one of the machines loses its motivation to work.

The robot complains that it’d been forced into mundane work and has discussions with its owners about its role in their lives.

Mitsubishi manufactured the robot and Osaka University spent two months developing the software training it for the stage, programming the machine to speak lines and follow the cast members around the stage.

Should you get the chance to see the play, it’s a short one, at 20 minutes, but there is hope to expand the technology and the play into a full-length production.

Source: BBC