ABB's YuMi and the Rise of Robot Performers

From 18th-century automata to ABB's YuMi conducting Andrea Bocelli and new theme park character robots: how robots became performers at work and home.

INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS

Chat With Robot

9/23/20261 min read

Robots entertained people long before they worked in factories. In the 1770s the Swiss watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz built The Writer, a clockwork boy who dips a quill and writes a short text. Later came theme park animatronics, which repeated the same motions for every crowd, show after show.

Antique clockwork doll of a boy seated at a small desk holding a quill
Antique clockwork doll of a boy seated at a small desk holding a quill

The Writer, an automaton built by Pierre Jaquet-Droz in the 1770s. Photo: Gre regiment / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

ABB's YuMi took a turn on stage in 2017. At the Teatro Verdi in Pisa it conducted the Lucca Philharmonic Orchestra through three pieces, including tenor Andrea Bocelli singing Verdi's "La donna è mobile." Conductor Andrea Colombini taught it by performing the gestures, which were recorded and then fine-tuned to the music.

ABB YuMi robot on a podium conducting an orchestra while a tenor sings
ABB YuMi robot on a podium conducting an orchestra while a tenor sings

ABB's YuMi conducts the Lucca Philharmonic with Andrea Bocelli in Pisa, 2017. Photo: ABB

Entertainment robots are now learning to react to the audience. On September 9, Dynamic Creatures, a Boston startup founded by former Boston Dynamics and Google leaders, came out of stealth with mobile character robots for theme parks and retail. It is Boston Dynamics' official entertainment partner and says its characters can respond to individual guests.

Yellow four-legged Spot robot walking on a dark stage
Yellow four-legged Spot robot walking on a dark stage

A Boston Dynamics Spot robot on stage at Web Summit 2025. Photo: Web Summit / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

YuMi's performance worked because the robot is precise and repeatable, and because it was built to work close to people. Its padded dual arms move at human scale, so it could stand in front of musicians, even though the gestures were recorded in advance.

ABB YuMi holding a baton beside a violinist in an ornate theater
ABB YuMi holding a baton beside a violinist in an ornate theater

YuMi rehearsing with a violinist at the Teatro Verdi. Photo: ABB

The same setup could run a museum exhibit or a live product demo. With lead-through teaching, an artist or curator can program an ABB cobot by moving its arms. RobotStudio lets them rehearse the whole routine in simulation before opening night.

ABB YuMi dual-arm robot at a workbench next to a person in a lab coat
ABB YuMi dual-arm robot at a workbench next to a person in a lab coat

ABB YuMi, the dual-arm cobot built to work close to people. Photo: ABB

At home the performer shrinks to a pet. Sony's aibo robot dog learns tricks and walks back to its charger by itself. I'd like to see a home robot that can keep someone company for a few minutes and then carry the laundry upstairs, which would mean giving a character like aibo a proper arm.

White and brown aibo robot dog standing on a floor beside a charging base
White and brown aibo robot dog standing on a floor beside a charging base

Sony's aibo robot dog next to its charging mat. Photo: Aniol / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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