Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli's voice soared to the rafters of a Tuscan theatre, but all eyes were on YuMi, the automated conductor beside him. The robot with the apparent penchant for Verdi took part in a world first, using its two mechanical arms to direct the orchestra. The Swiss-designed system swept its baton skywards with one hand, while the other curved around in a caress spurring on the strings as the operatic La Donna E' Mobile, or Woman Is Fickle, reached its climax. Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli's (front of stage) voice soared to the rafters of a Tuscan theatre on Tuesday, but all eyes were on YuMi, the automated conductor beside him (foreground of image) during a world first performance by a two armed robotic maestro YuMi, whose name is derived from the phrase'you and me', was taught all the movements by conductor Andrea Colombani. He held its arms in rehearsals so the computer could memorise the correct gestures.

"Imagine a 6-year-old kid about to start school. The kid has only known his local village, the local fields," Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli said at MIT on Friday. "This is a place that kid would have imagined was close to the stars. That kid, of course, was me." Bocelli, who became blind after a childhood accident, visited MIT in support of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation's (ABF) funding of research on assistive technologies for the blind and for reducing global poverty.