Here at Medgadget we long for the day when prosthetic devices are stronger, faster, and lighter than our real arms and legs. We can also imagine prostheses able to do things that simple humans cannot, such as arms rotating a screwdriver indefinitely in one direction and programmable legs that can autonomously walk you to your destination. Now a prosthetic created by Gil Weinberg, a professor at Georgia Tech, allows an arm amputee to play drums with a brand new gusto. The device features two drum sticks, one operated either like a normal stick or through electromyography (EMG), while the other listens to the music being played and improvises along. The result is a one armed drummer able to play drums using three drum sticks.
Here’s a Georgia Tech video showing off the new device:
Georgia Tech: Robotic Prosthesis Turns Drummer into a Three-Armed Cyborg