“Anyone who has ever dreamed of conducting an orchestra can now realize their ambition with Semi-Conductor, Google’s latest artificial intelligence experiment,” reports Taylor Grant in Wednesday’s (12/19) Musical America (subscription required). “The process is simple. A would-be maestro launches Semi-Conductor in Google Chrome; stands in front of his or her webcam, making sure to fit outstretched arms within the frame of the camera; and begins conducting. Pose-Net, a machine-learning model, is at the core of Semi-Conductor. It estimates human poses, detecting human figures in images and videos with your browser. No specialized hardware or software is required. Best of all, since all the processing of your conducting efforts takes place within your browser, there is no record of your prowess on the podium. This latest experiment follows earlier Google efforts. AI Duet enables users to play a virtual piano in their browsers and provides a virtual accompaniment, while AutoDraw translates rough doodles into clip art.” Semi-Conductor is located here.
Posted December 20, 2018
