A SINGING, dancing robot actor has joined the amazing mechanical and moving art currently on display in Falmouth Art Gallery’s ‘A Cabaret of Mechanical Movement’ exhibition.

RoboThespian, made by Engineered Arts in Penryn, has been delighting visitors with its renditions of Cabaret, The Wizard of Oz and A Fistful of Dollars to name a few.

The exhibition is a celebration of all things that move with a focus on automata-making.

Falmouth has been described as the ‘home’ of automata making due to the former ‘Cabaret’ shop on the High Street and its association with three figures who were central to the renaissance of automata making in the UK: Peter Markey (1930-2016), Ron Fuller (1936-2017) and Sue Jackson (1938-2016).

Falmouth continues to be an important nucleus of contemporary automata makers many of whom have international reputations.

RoboThespian is the most iconic robot designed by Engineered Arts, founded by Sue’s son Will Jackson in 2004.

The Penryn based company now concentrates entirely on development and sales of an ever expanding range of humanoid and semi-humanoid robots.

RoboThespian is the ultimate acting humanoid designed for human interaction in a public environment.

The robot features an incredibly expressive range of movements and emotions. RoboThespian is the perfect talking robot.

The robots are used throughout the world as entertainers, salesmen and actors in films and theatre.

RoboThespian steals the show in the play Spillikin. This particular model is customised with a state of the art projected head which means that a huge range of facial emotion can be accurately displayed with subtle nuance, normally only achievable by human actors.

Using inbuilt cameras and microphones, the robot’s gaze can be controlled, it can enter a natural conversation and what it says can be created in real time.

The robot can sing Celine Dion songs and quote the script of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and The Silence of the Lambs.

A more educational part that they play is as teachers and guides in museums throughout the world, including Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

RoboThespian is popular with companies who use him as part of their social media campaigns. He’s perfect material for selfie snappers and naturally attracts attention, which is great for a brand.

A Cabaret of Mechanical Movement can be seen at Falmouth Art Gallery from 30 June – 8 September 2018. Entry is free and there is a series of free talks and activities for all ages running alongside the exhibition.

Meeting RobotThespian is an experience you will not forget.