Robotic arm gives amputee drummer better beats


One drumstick is controlled by muscle movement, the other "listens" and plays on its own. Georgia Tech




"The second drumstick has a mind of its own," Weinberg said in a statement. "The drummer essentially becomes a cyborg. It's interesting to see him playing and improvising with part of his arm that he doesn't totally control."

Barnes finds it more than interesting. "I'll bet a lot of metal drummers might be jealous of what I can do now," he said. "Speed is good. Faster is always better," he said, referring to the fact that the autonomous stick can move more quickly than humanly possible.

The drumming arm is an extension of Weinberg's previous work; among other thing, he has created one robot that could play the drums and one that could play the marimba. Both robots could jam with human counterparts thanks to programmed algorithms. The autonomous third stick uses similar technology to "listen" to what's being played and add its own appropriate track. If the drummer doesn't want to hear the extra stick, he can simply rotate his arm so it doesn't strike the drum.

Beyond making music, Weinberg sees applications for his technology in outer space or the operating room, where a third arm could help astronauts or surgeons orchestrate complex operations.

You can see Barnes trying out the device in the video below. He'll rock it in public for the first time at the Robotic Musicianship Demonstration and Concert at Kennesaw State University on March 22.

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