On May 13th, the Unical Auditorium Theater (TAU) in Rende will host the debut of RoBoCon: a pioneering workshop on human-robot artistic collaboration that is redrawing the boundaries of musical performance.

RENDE (CS) – The future of classical music is evolving through humanoid robotics. On Wednesday, May 13th, at 3:00 PM, the Unical Auditorium Theater (TAU) will host the workshop “Human-Robot Artistic Collaboration in MUSIC4D.” This event marks one of the final milestones of MUSIC4D, the ambitious PNRR-funded project led by the Alessandro Scarlatti Conservatory of Palermo in synergy with the Conservatories of Sicily and Sardinia and the Universities of Palermo and Calabria.

The event signals a transition for robotics from “Smart Factories” to the “Art Factory,” demonstrating how Artificial Intelligence can interact emotionally with both musicians and the audience. The centerpiece of the day will be the RoBoCon platform, a technological breakthrough capable of conducting an orchestral ensemble in a unique relay with Maestro Michelangelo Galeati. The performance, enhanced by AI-generated videos by Dr. Mauro Martino (IBM-MIT), will offer an extraordinary journey through the soundtracks of science fiction masterpieces and Mediterranean cinema—ranging from 2001: A Space Odyssey to the immortal themes of Ennio Morricone.

“Music4D proves that AI can inhabit beauty and empower human creativity,” emphasizes Prof. Giancarlo Fortino, head of the SPEME Laboratory at Unical. The scientific core of the meeting, coordinated by Prof. Valeria Seidita (UniPa), will investigate the deepest challenges of modern robotics: from an automaton’s ability to “feel” emotions to the physical perception between humans and synthetics via Robotic Virtual Touch. Speakers will also include Prof. Antonio Chella (UniPa) and Dr. Rajat Chawla (Unical).

The Rende appointment seals the definitive transition of the Italian Higher Arts and Music Education (AFAM) system toward a future “Art Factory.” Music4D thus delivers a permanent research infrastructure to the international stage, capable of transforming the complexity of binary code into a new digital humanism, where Italian musical heritage finds a powerful and unprecedented voice within the architectures of contemporary technology.