This invention translates dance moves into incredible MUSIC

31 May 2018, 17:32 | Updated: 31 May 2018, 17:41

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

Yamaha has created a new form of Artificial Intelligence which translates a dancer’s real-time movements into piano music. Here’s a top professional dancer trying it out.

The system was used on dancer Kaiji Moriyama’s body in a recent concert with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Scharoun Ensemble.

First, the system detects Kaiji’s movements in real time using four kinds of sensors on his body.

Next, the system analyses the information, then responds to the diverse range of the dancer’s movements and translates it into MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface).

Finally, the MIDI is transmitted to a Yamaha Disklavier player piano, which performs it.

It’s pretty captivating to watch.

This creation was made possible by the Tokyo University of the Arts and Tokyo University of the Arts Centre of Innovation. Watch the full video here.