Sony says it has the technology to make humanoid robots, but is still trying to find a worthwhile use case. Maybe drumming is one of the options.
After all, a robot can hold a steady beat more accurately than the average human being. It makes sense to bring automation into a band in the form of a drummer.
We found an example of a singing robot as well.
But robotic music may not be a valuable use case for humanoid robots.
After all, music has already been automated simply by recording it. Automatic pitch correction and special filters are commonplace. Having a robot sing or play a musical instrument doesn’t actually add much to the experience. Watching a humanoid robot play music is kind of cool in the same sense that watching a robot “dance” is kind of cool, but it doesn’t actually meet a need.
Pretty much any human being can dance better than any robot.
But it’s possible that a robotic drummer could be useful. However, it wouldn’t have to be humanoid. Check out these industrial robots drumming.
They can play other instruments, too.
Maybe Elon Musk is correct in thinking that humanoid robots can be most useful as “buddies.”