How the ABB quickly misdirects
At first glance, it was a good show. Last Tuesday, ABB invited people to the Teatro Verdi in Pisa, where a philharmonic orchestra played, star tenor Andrea Bocelli sang and an ABB robot held the baton. The press was grateful to pick up the story. After all, digitalisation is on everyone’s lips and people like to see such unusual images. At second glance, however, it became clear that ABB had botched its brand presentation.
Of course, directing is nothing new for ABB robots. The whole thing was designed to show that ABB’s supposedly cold robot technology can hold its own in delicate environments. But what did the robot conductor do? It did the conductor’s job, only much worse. Herbert von Karajan once said, “The conductor is not the executor of the score. He fills it with life.” The robot could not bring life to the score. It acted as the executor. So why the whole exercise? What is ABB’s brand promise? ABB is actually known for developing robotic solutions that do not replace humans but complement and relieve them. On its website, ABB shows how fascinating its robots can work with people and how the latest sensors enable a closeness between humans and robots that was not thought possible until recently. So, for a lot of money, ABB put a tin trunk with two arms in front of an orchestra and had it swing the baton – without any interaction with the orchestra. Violinist Brad Repp, who attended the concert, told SDA: “The robot is amusing, but it’s not the future.”
Not only did Andrea Bocelli fail to see that this was an extremely odd picture, but the ABB CEO did not. Spiesshofer enthuses on the ABB website: “I believe we are really making history tonight and revolutionising the future use of robots”, and adds to Blick: “With this emotional application, we are showing that people do not need to be afraid of robots.”
But it is precisely this show that could frighten an ABB customer. Customers want to experience ABB as a problem-solver, not as a company that has bought into the digital hype and is simply doing what is possible. The metronome has been invented a long time ago, and a robot conductor who can’t do much more seems ridiculous. ABB could provide real added value by showing how robotics can help artists go beyond themselves in their art. ABB already provides such added value in many areas. In short, ABB should differentiate itself not by what is possible, but by what is useful.