Last updated at 20:40 14 May 2008

The lights dimmed, the sold-out concert hall hushed and 4ft3in of shiny white metal clanked onto the stage.

The conductor, it seems, was ready.

"Hello, everyone," it beeped and then waved to the Detroit Symphony to begin.

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Maestro: The ASIMO robot conducts the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

As the orchestra played the first chords of The Impossible Dream, the robot nodded its head at various sections and gestured with one or both hands.

It was a note perfect if passionless performance. Not that the American audience seemed to care. There were enthusiastic cheers as the robot took a bow.

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You're kidding: The Honda robot enters the stage to a chorus of smiles from the musicians

The robot, built by the Honda company, is known as ASIMO - which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility.

A spokesman for the company, which has incidentally used The Impossible Dream in some of its advertising campaigns, said it was the first time a robot had conducted a live performance.

Engineers had simply programmed it to mimic the conductor. But it cannot respond to the musicians.

For example, during a rehearsal, the orchestra lost its place when the robot slowed the tempo, something a human conductor would have sensed and corrected.