In this modern era, we have heard the name dancing robots, house-sitting robots, but at this moment a new breed of robots, acting robots, is taking the world by storm. The latest species of robots (30 kg) has already made its big debut on the Japanese stage after one month of rehearsals.

Skilled experts and scientists at Osaka University developed software to train robots to tread the boards together with their human actors in an attempt to fuse cutting-edge robotics with the world of arts. These robots are specially programmed and made to speak lines with human counterparts and move around the stage with them. The stage-play which titled Hataraku Watashi (I, Worker), and it had premiere at Osaka University, is one of Japan’s first robot-human theatre productions. The Wakamaru robot is manufactured and assembled by Mitsubushi though the software to train it for the stage play was developed over two months at the university.

On the other hand, dramatist Oriza Hirata says the work, set in the near future, has raised some questions about the relationship and bond between humanity and technology. According to playwright the play is based on the life of a young pair that get two housekeeping robots, and one of which loses its motivation to work. In the play the robot complains that it has been forced along with pressured into boring and demeaning jobs, then go through into a discussion with the human actor about its role in their lives. Presently, the length of this play is only 20 minutes although its makers expect that it will turn into a full-length production by 2010.

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