photo: KIOKU Keizo
>Related Events Artists' Talk SAITO Tatsuya x ISHIGURO Hiroshi
>Details
Date: Saturday, January 19, 2013, 3:00 pm- [Finished]
>Related Events Performance 'The identical, the reversal #1'
>Details
Date: Saturday, December 15, 2012, 3:00 pm- [Finished]
Unveiled in August 2012 at BREEZE PLAZA Hall in Osaka, the 'Beicho Android' was created in celebration of the 88th birthday of rakugo storyteller and living national treasure, KATSURA Beicho. Osaka University professor ISHIGURO Hiroshi, who supervised the development, has previously attracted attention in Japan and abroad for creating androids imitating existing human models including himself.
Thanks to the cooperation of Hollywood-experienced special make-up artist ENDO Shinya, human features have been reproduced in a particularly realistic manner. For the design of the android's movements, a rakugo performance by Beicho's son KATSURA Yonedanji was recorded using motion capture technology, after which the program controlling the android's body movements was minutely fine-tuned.
Production: The Sankei Building Co., Ltd. BREEZE ARTS Co., Ltd.
Production cooperation: Beicho Co., Ltd.
Android Development Director: ISHIGURO Hiroshi
Android Development: ARC+EST STUDIO
ISHIGURO Hiroshi
Born 1963 in Shiga. Robot engineer, professor at the Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University; Director of Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, ATR. Has so far developed a number of humanoid, android, and remote-controlled Geminoid robots modeled after himself among others. The Android-Human Theater company's "Sayonara" (Good-bye) (script/direction by HIRATA Oriza) premiered at Aichi Triennale 2010. Received attention especially also for his 'Beicho Android' modeled after living national treasure, rakugo storyteller KATSURA Beicho. Following his creed that "robot engineering is nothing else but pure philosophy," he authored such books as "Robotto toha nanika" ("What is a robot?" / Kodansha Gendai Shinsho) and "Dousureba 'hito' wo tsukureruka" ("How to make 'people'" / Shinchosha).
