Will Chalk

You need three things for an eye.

You need some molecule that detects light.

You need some sort of cup shape that allows you to sense direction of light.

When this all started, what we descended from, or rather the origin of the eye, was very primitive.

They actually, a more complex version came down from that one ancestral eye.

Marnie Chesterton.

Now, if you're a fan of classical music, you'll know that a conductor does a lot more than just keep an orchestra in time.

Their gestures and facial expressions also help shape the dynamics, phrasing and emotions of the piece.

So not that easy for a robot to replicate, you might think.

Well, it's something that's been put to the test at Denmark's National Symphony Orchestra as part of a series of concerts exploring the boundaries between human and machine.

This report from Alice Adderley.

Picture the scene in a Copenhagen concert hall.

A silver humanoid form moves its robotic arms rhythmically up and down and the musicians follow it until it abruptly brings them down and the music stops.

At a rehearsal before Wednesday evening's performance, members of the orchestra praised its capacity to keep the rhythm absolutely precise, but said it lacked other qualities.

Here's violinist Christina Astrand.

Yes, it's actually very strange because you're not met with a face.

You're just met by this blue strip around a face-like figure.

It's got a small red butterfly on.

According to the Danish Technological Institute, the new Maestro is among the most advanced types of robots available.

They say they've just taken possession of it, so wanted to do something truly spectacular with the robot to see what else it can be used for in the future.