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Drummers get an extra edge with robotic arm

Catwell

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This robotic arm turns drummer into a cyborg music machine. University of Georgia Tech creates a robotic arm that plays along with user's movements. (via University of Georgia Tech)

 

Some drummers are so fast, precise, and amazing they must be part cyborg to get so good. But can you imagine how much more powerful they'd become if they had a third arm? Researchers at Georgia Tech have made this a reality. The research team have developed a robotic arm to give drummers a little help. The project is part of the university's Center for Music Technology and their goal to push the limits of what humans can do with smart robotics.

 

The smart arm is two feet long and attaches to a musician's shoulder. It works by responding to the user's gestures along with the music it hears. If a drummer moves to play the high hat cymbal, the robotic arm moves to play the ride cymbal. The robotic arm can also go freestyle based on what it hears. It can speed up and slow down depending on the user's movements. It also has built in accelerators to locate where the drums are along with the direction and proximity of the human arms. On board motors ensure the drumstick is always parallel to the drums. This also allows it to rise, lower, or twist in order to come in contact with the drum or cymbal.

 

Sounds great, but you may be asking why? Gil Weinberg, director of the Center for Music Technology, says “The third arm provides a much richer and more creative experience, allowing the human to play many drums simultaneously with virtuosity and sophistication that are not otherwise possible.”

 

The idea is based on a previous robotic prosthesis Georgia Tech created in 2014 for a drummer who lost his arm in an accident. This device featured two sticks and allowed the musician to not only continue his passion, but also become the fastest drummer in the world. The next step for the university's latest robotic arm is to link the movements to brain activity. The team is currently conducting experiments with an electroencephalogram (EEG) headband with the ability to detect a drummer's brain patterns. Their goal is to identify patterns that would allow the arm to react when the musician thinks about changing tempo or instruments.

 

But Weinberg and his team aren't limiting the arm to drummer. They believe this robotic arm can be used to bring doctors tools or participate in surgeries. They also think it'll be a viable tool for technicians who may need some help with repairs or experiments. "Music is based on very timely, precise movements,” says Weinberg. “It's the perfect medium to try this concept of human augmentation and a third arm.”

 

Aside from creating a force of three armed drummers, this new robotic arm has a lot of potential both in the music field and out of it. Maybe the next step will be a robotic arm that shreds on guitar.

 

 

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Parents

  • Although fascinating and really awesome from a techno-geek perspective, developments in robotics and automation like this can, and I would argue, should provoke serious thought about implications for cross impacts on human social constructs.  The pace of robotic development is stunning (see, for example, the latest ambulatory creation from Boston Dynamics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVlhMGQgDkY).

     

    I recommend considering the sober advice of the late Neil Postman (https://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~cs492/papers/neil-postman--five-things.html) on the Faustian bargain that technological change can bring.  I am convinced that we can not halt technological advance, largely because the economic rewards are too appealing and any detrimental consequences are too distant or too complex to impede our passion for progress.  My singular aim here is to stimulate consideration of consequence in the minds of technically adept creators.  Just because we can, does that me we should?

Comment

  • Although fascinating and really awesome from a techno-geek perspective, developments in robotics and automation like this can, and I would argue, should provoke serious thought about implications for cross impacts on human social constructs.  The pace of robotic development is stunning (see, for example, the latest ambulatory creation from Boston Dynamics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVlhMGQgDkY).

     

    I recommend considering the sober advice of the late Neil Postman (https://www.student.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~cs492/papers/neil-postman--five-things.html) on the Faustian bargain that technological change can bring.  I am convinced that we can not halt technological advance, largely because the economic rewards are too appealing and any detrimental consequences are too distant or too complex to impede our passion for progress.  My singular aim here is to stimulate consideration of consequence in the minds of technically adept creators.  Just because we can, does that me we should?

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