Musician programmes robot to perform three-minute duet

This young man built and programmed a robot arm from scratch that performed a three-minute duet with him.

William Sun Petrus, 24, was inspired to create the robot arm when he came across a broken record player and decided it needed a new lease of life.

The full-time software developer and musician was influenced by experimental performance artists such as Shawn Wasabi, Jack Conte and SoNevable.

William is seen taking apart the old record player where he plans and installs the motors with a microcomputer and other electronic parts.

He then programs the robot arm to move in response to his own movements.

The footage ends with a shortened version of the original, three-minute song that William - and the robot - performed together.

William, from Scotland, said the items for the project cost around £160 - but he destroyed about £200 worth of materials whilst trying to make his plan come to life.

The clips were taken over the course of a year - the actual building took 8 months and he spent an hour every day for four months practicing his performance.

William makes similar creative projects in his spare time and shares them on his YouTube channel.

He said: “I was inspired by performance artists like Shawn and Jack about 10 years ago, but I wasn’t very talented at making music or performing back then.

“I've grown up now and learned a lot about creating and performing,

“Now I'm able to make my own projects like the artists I looked up to.

“I hope that my work will inspire the next generation of artists!”