Humanoid & robot atlas
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ResearchJapan

Osaka University · research humanoid

Alter 3

The third Alter android, an upper body with a human face and hands but an exposed mechanical frame, developed by Hiroshi Ishiguro's and Takashi Ikegami's labs with software help from mixi and Warner Music Japan. It runs an artificial-life-style AI that lets it move and lead music on its own rather than following a fixed script.

Price
—Not published
Height
—Not published
Weight
—Not published
Payload
—Not published
Speed
—Not published
Battery
—Not published
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Why it matters

An autonomous android that conducts a human orchestra, setting tempo and volume and singing, in Keiichiro Shibuya's android opera 'Scary Beauty'.

Real-world use

Conducted and sang with a 35-piece orchestra in Tokyo (Feb 2019), in Dusseldorf (2019) and at the Sharjah Art Foundation (Jan 2020).

Timeline

First shown
2019-02-28
Released
Not yet
Press demonstration conducting an orchestra at the New National Theatre, Tokyo

Maker

Osaka UniversityUniversity lab · Suita, Osaka, Japan

University research lab; ERICA was developed within the JST ERATO Ishiguro Symbiotic Human-Robot Interaction Project.

What it has been shown doing

We checked public videos and press for Alter 3 and found no clear demo of the skills we track yet.

Public attention

How much public attention Alter 3 gets, from open data.

  • No Wikipedia article of its own yet
  • 3 news stories from reputable press listed on this page

Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured

What’s inside

The parts the company has talked about publicly.

Hands
simple
Movement
Stationary
Actuators & motors
Exposed mechanical upper body with servos and cables visible beneath a human-like face and hands (as described by the Dusseldorf premiere).
AI & software
Autonomous AI from Takashi Ikegami's lab drives its movement; for the opera it set tempo and volume and sang, with software developed with mixi and Warner Music Japan.
Other details
Conducts and sings in Keiichiro Shibuya's android opera 'Scary Beauty', whose songs draw on texts by Houellebecq, Mishima, Burroughs and Wittgenstein. Built by Hiroshi Ishiguro's lab (Osaka University); predecessor Alter 2 premiered in Tokyo in 2018.

Lineage

Every Osaka University (Ishiguro Lab) and University of Tokyo (Ikegami Lab), with mixi and Warner Music Japan humanoid in order.

  1. DB (Dynamic Brain)DB (Dynamic Brain)2000Retired
  2. RobovieRobovie2001Retired
  3. Actroid (Repliee Q1)Actroid (Repliee Q1)2003Retired
  4. No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useCB2 (Child-robot with Biomimetic Body)2006Retired
  5. Geminoid HI-1Geminoid HI-12006Retired
  6. Geminoid FGeminoid F2010Retired
  7. No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to usePneuborn2011Retired
  8. ERICAERICA2015Research
  9. No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useAlter 32019Research

Watch Alter 3

Video: Keiichiro Shibuya on YouTube. Plays from youtube-nocookie.com when you press play.

Made, sold and where

Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.

Price
Not published
How to get one
No official buying page found
Built
One-off research android
Sold or delivered
not sold
Where it is sold or used
Japan (Osaka University and University of Tokyo)
Customers and pilots
Performances in Tokyo, Dusseldorf (March 2019) and Sharjah (January 2020)

News

The latest 3, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.

  1. Scary Beauty robot opera heads to the UAE

    The National previewed Alter 3's Middle East premiere in Sharjah on 31 January 2020 as part of Sharjapan.

    The National
  2. Alter 3 conducts German premiere in Dusseldorf

    Tanzhaus NRW staged the German premiere of Scary Beauty with the Japanese Philharmonic Dusseldorf at the Kunstpalast.

    Tanzhaus NRW
  3. Android conducts orchestra in Tokyo

    Jiji Press reported Alter 3 sang and conducted 35 musicians at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, on 28 February 2019.

    Jiji Press via Nippon.com

Side by side with its peers

Picked by the same rules for every humanoid: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. Few robots match closely, so these are the nearest matches. How we choose

Full comparison
MeasureNo public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useAlter 3Osaka University (Ishiguro Lab) and University of Tokyo (Ikegami Lab), with mixi and Warner Music JapanSophiaSophiaHanson RoboticsSame job: entertainment · Both fixed in place · Both research platformsCUE6CUE6Toyota Motor CorporationSame job: entertainment · Both fixed in place · Both research platforms
First shown2019-02-282016-032022-12-24
StatusResearchResearchResearch
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Weight———
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Sources

Figures come from public sources. Every link below backs something on this page.

Nippon.com (Jiji Press) Autonomous robot that sings opera and conducts an orchestra presented in Tokyo The National Scary Beauty: Japanese robot opera comes to UAE Tanzhaus NRW Keiichiro Shibuya & The Japanese Philharmonic Dusseldorf Logo: ATR, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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