The Confessor – AUR

AUR played the title role in Rony Kubat’s short play “The Confessor”, premiering on May 9, 2007 with additional shows on May 10, and 11. The play starred Jonas Kubilius and Laurel Ruhlen, and was directed by Kate Snodgrass.
This was a first-of-a-kind human-robot joint performance, in which the robot was controlled through a novel actor point-of-view hybrid control system structured around scenes, beats, and actions. The software enabled the robot to react in time and, through the use of an embedded camera, to make eye-contact with the actors during rehearsal and performance. This system is the first step in an ongoing effort towards a fully autonomous robotic actor.