Unitree's Go2 robot dog is making its off-Broadway theatre debut, and we got an exclusive behind-the-scenes look and interviews with the cast and crew making it happen.
Unitree's Go2 in rehearsal with actor Gabriel Rysdahl.
Numi Prasarn/CNETThe play is a one-act entitled The Robot, the Spy, and the Love of AI. The idea originated when playwright John Arthur Long stumbled across a video of Unitree's Go2 Pro robot on YouTube. He purchased himself a robot and the story grew from there. "I don't believe there has ever been an actual robot live on stage," Long says.
The cast and crew of The Robot, the Spy, and the Love of AI. From left: robot voice actor David Rey, actor Gabriel Rysdahl, director Kirk Gostkowski, Unitree Go2, actor Monica Park, playwright John Arthur Long, robot operator Dariel Garcia.
Numi Prasarn/CNETThe robot is voiced live by David Rey, who communicates via a speaker attached to the robot's back, and its movements are manipulated live by Dariel Garcia, using an app and a controller.
"I have about 90% control," Garcia says. "A lot of the jumping and the certain arm movement that it does, those are preprogrammed, but most of the time it is just me puppeteering the dog."
To maneuver the robot live, Dariel Garcia uses a controller that displays a feed of the robot's onboard camera.
Numi Prasarn/CNETThe play's director, Kirk Gostkowski, who's also artistic director of the Chain Theater, says he briefly considered recording the robot's lines in advance but quickly realized that doing it live was the best choice. "There's a lot of comedy in this," he says. "If there's laughter, the actor will have to pause. The actor knows to handle the audience in a different way. This is the joy of live theater."
A closer look at Unitree's Go2 robot dog.
Numi Prasarn/CNETThe play debuted on Friday and runs through March 1 as part of the Chain Winter One Act Festival. To see our exclusive behind-the-scenes look, check out the video in this article.
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