Scientists at the CSIRO’s Textile and Fibre Technology division in Geelong have developed a T-shirt that can generate actual music from air guitar movements.
Apparently, arm motions are mapped via electrical sensors woven into the fabric and beamed by radio to a computer which decodes them into musical notes.
“The left arm chooses a note and the right arm plays it,” said Richard Helmer, a CSIRO chemical engineer who led the project. The arrangement can be reversed for left-handed musicians.”
Helmer is currently looking into ways to commercialize the product, but before you ask who is lame enough to buy a shirt that brings their passion for air guitar to the next level, keep in mind that the benefits of the “Wearable Instrument Shirt” (WIS), go far beyond music.
The technology could be used to develop controls for video games and computers that don’t require a peripheral device. It could also be used to help “create 3D replicas of physiotherapy patients to help teach them to walk and bend again after injuries.”
Oh, and if you are wondering who might be lame enough to buy a shirt for air guitar, check out the video after the jump.
