A Huffington Post article about the different uses of robots featured the work of David Saltz, head of Franklin College’s theatre and film studies department.
In 2012, Saltz worked with Chi Thai, an associate professor in the College of Engineering, to present Commedia Robotica, a performance that starred a foot-tall robot named Zeeb Zob. According to the article, the robot had been trained to perform Commedia dell’arte, a highly stylized form of classical Italian theater.
“Our goal was to teach the robot to be a good actor,” Saltz said.
The article mentioned that Saltz and others are working on a new generation of robots that will have the ability to perform autonomously and learn from interactions.
“Acting is reacting,” Saltz was quoted as saying. “For me, the holy grail is to create robots that respond dynamically to their environment.”
