🥁 Robot Learns to Play Linkin Park and Nirvana on Drums
Researchers from Italy and Switzerland have trained a virtual robot to play drums at a human level.
Scientists placed 8,192 virtual Unitree G1 robots in Nvidia's "sandbox" Isaac Gym. The robots were given adapted MIDI scores of real songs and tasked with playing them on a drum kit using reinforcement learning.
Initially, the movements were clumsy, and the robots barely hit the drums. However, the algorithm rewarded the "musicians" for every correct hit and penalized them for misses.
Eventually, the android not only learned to stay on rhythm but also to play with human-like expressiveness. The robot's AI even mastered techniques used by experienced drummers—cross-sticking, optimal stances, and planning hand positions in advance. Researchers did not provide instructions on how to play; the robot intuitively developed efficient movements.
The system's capabilities were tested on popular tracks by Linkin Park, Nirvana, Bon Jovi, and other bands. The accuracy of reproduction exceeded 90%, even in complex rhythmic sections ⤴️
The scientists plan to test the algorithm on a real robot and even aim to teach it how to improvise. According to the researchers, such drummer robots could perform live with humans in the future.