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Students from Sarajevo University's electrical
engineering school agreed to build Robby after the band
requested a robot designed to fit the concept of their album #fakenews,
which was released last year.
"Our robot... likes to eat, drink, shout, he likes music," said
Vedran Mujagic, the band's bass guitar player who was most
involved in designing the concept for Robby.
In a video clip for the #fakenews album, one band member thinks
it would be fun to have a robot do his work while he relaxes and
has fun, so he orders one and assembles it.
Gradually the whole band is replaced by robots in the clip,
allowing the men to go and party. But they then get locked out
of their studio and the robots have the last laugh, inviting
young women to dance and drink as the men look on from outside.
"Every little thing is under machine control," Robby sings in a
song called "Take my job away".
The message - about "evil artificial intelligence which takes
jobs away from good people" - is intended to be ironic, Mujagic
said.
CHALLENGE
One of the students who helped build the robot used in the
album, Almir Besic, said the project had been a challenge
because they knew nothing at first about the 3D printing needed
to build the robot and lacked the necessary equipment.
They used recycled materials, including a Golf 2 axle shaft and
baby trolley wheels, to make the platform on which Robby moves.
It took them about two years to complete the project.
When Robby finally came to life, "it was such a euphoric moment,
after so much effort, so many hours spent working in the school
to see that it works", Besic said.
The band Dubioza Kolektiv is known for its eclectic musical
style and socially and politically engaged lyrics.
Robby took part in the band's online weekly gigs called
"Quarantine Show" during lockdowns imposed last year to curb the
spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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