Monthly Archives: March 2014

'Cyborg' drummer holds down the beat with prosthetic arm

Posted on by

March. 11 (UPI) -- Bands and music ensembles that don't have a human drummer often opt for a drum machine. But now there's a third choice, a "cyborg" drummer -- half man, half machine.

Two years ago, Jason Barnes, an aspiring musician, was electrocuted while cleaning a restaurant vent hood. Doctors were forced to amputate his arm below the elbow. Barnes pressed on, continuing to play music. He was even able to rig himself up a rudimentary prosthetic and enroll at the Atlanta Institute of Music and Media in Georgia. Still, it was tough going.

But now, thanking to technical prowess of Professor Gil Weinberg, founding director of Georgia Tech's Center for Music Technology, Barnes is back to his original rhythmical self.

Barnes' new drumming prosthesis features motors that power two drumsticks. The first stick is controlled by Barnes, both physically and electronically using electromyography (EMG) sensors that pick up on nerve signals in Barnes' bicep.

Now I can flex and send signals to a computer that tightens or loosens the stick and controls the rebound, said Barnes.

The second stick is programmed to improvise rhythm based on the music it hears being played.

The second drumstick has a mind of its own, explained Weinberg. The drummer essentially becomes a cyborg. Its interesting to see him playing and improvising with part of his arm that he doesnt totally control.

Barnes says his new found abilities on the drum kit go beyond what an all-human musician could hope to do. Ill bet a lot of metal drummers might be jealous of what I can do now, he said. Speed is good. Faster is always better.

Barnes originally got hooked up with Weinberg through his drum instructor Eric Sanders. Sanders will join Barnes and his prosthetic device on stage at the Atlanta Science Festival on March 22. The two will be joined be several programmed musical robots, designed by Weinberg to improvise with live musicians.

Weinberg plans to keep expanding on the technology using a National Science Foundation grant. He thinks the improvisational algorithm could even be tweaked to help fully able professionals, like astronauts or surgeons, perform highly complex and precise physical tasks.

The rest is here:

'Cyborg' drummer holds down the beat with prosthetic arm

Goa holiday and tour | Goa beaches and honeymoon| Goa Travel | Goa holiday tour – Video

Posted on by


Goa holiday and tour | Goa beaches and honeymoon| Goa Travel | Goa holiday tour
Goa is Perfect holiday packages online available on Cheapairetickets. It offers Goa land packages, Goa tour, Goa Holiday tour from Delhi, Goa holiday tour wi...

By: Cheap Air E Tickets India

Read the original here:

Goa holiday and tour | Goa beaches and honeymoon| Goa Travel | Goa holiday tour - Video

Destin beaches become breaker central (PHOTOS)

Posted on by

Spring break is in full swing, as beaches and roadways were packed on Monday afternoon. Colorful beach towels dotted the sand, and groups playing beach games gave a festive feel to the years first wave of spring breakers. The scene at Destins beach revealed that families outnumbered college students, but both demographics were there en masse.

Trent Cox and Ashley Mesecke walk both lines as the two are graduate students of Ole Miss, but they are vacationing with family, as part of a lifelong Destin spring tradition. The chill of the water deterred them from swimming, but the Houston natives were enjoying a leisurely game of horseshoes beside their Texan flag beach tent. When asked what essentials they bring to the beach Cox said, Paddleball and Football, and Mesecke added, A cooler and sunscreen.

Further down the beach large groups of college students were getting the party started with beer pong and a booze bat. Virginia Military Institute student Carl Ellison told The Log that most of the group had just met for the first time earlier that day.

A lot of us hitch-hiked from the airport, he said. Now were just enjoying the beach and meeting people we dont know.

One surprising common denominator between spring breakers is the comparison between Destin and Panama City. Florida State student, Jenelle Lemieux shared that in her opinion, Destin is the better place to be.

Destin is so much better than Panama City, she said. Its less wild.

Michael Gibbs of Mississippi agreed, saying Panama City seemed "trashy."

Destin is better, he said.

Two spring breakers, however, were not having an ideal day, as they were given a citation by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Department. Patrolling the beaches in a golf cart, Officer Brian Polson explained that they are not trying to ruin vacations, but keep spring breakers safe.

Its all about safety, he said referring to an incident that left a lasting impression on him. Last year an 18 year old consumed alcohol and dove into a sand bar, and was paralyzed from the waist down.

See original here:

Destin beaches become breaker central (PHOTOS)

119M Investment to Open New Scientific Frontiers in Astronomy

Posted on by

UK scientists, engineers and industries will be helping to design and build the worlds largest telescope. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) will manage the UK role in this exciting project which will be at the forefront of astronomy over the coming decade.Today STFC confirmed the release of 19M over the next 4 years to support the design of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, made up of a capital investment in Big Data of 11m, and a further 2M a year in the on-going core research program.The SKA will be the largest and most sensitive radio telescope in the world, stretching technology to its limits.In addition, speaking ahead of an event at Jodrell Bank Observatory today, the Science Minister David Willetts announced further funding of 100M for the SKA project as it moves towards construction from 2017. This support will build on the work the UK is already doing in leading the effort to design the computing and software for the project which will have a data processing capacity 1,000 times greater than currently available.The Minister declared, Investment in science is a crucial part of this governments long-term economic plan. Its about investing in our future, helping grow new industries and create more jobs -- and that will mean more financial security for people across the country.The SKA radio telescope project will produce around twenty times the current global traffic of the internet in its internal telecommunications system. In fact, to play back a single days worth of SKA data on an MP3 player would take 2 million years. Thanks to the investment being made in the design phase, British scientists and industry partners are already helping to develop the central computing and data handling systems which will read the huge volume of new data, meaning this project could lead to faster smartphones and increased internet speeds across the UK in the future. The global market for data analysis is also expected to be worth 31 billion by 2016. With the additional resources being announced today by the Minister, Britain will be in a prime position to dominate the market and exploit the spin out technologies and knowledge that will arise from tackling the huge technical challenge of the SKA.STFC Chief Executive Professor John Womersley said: For the SKA, todays announcement allows the UK astronomy research community the chance to address some of the fundamental questions in research on the origin and evolution of the universe. At the same time the technical innovations needed for the project will transform the capabilities of high-performance computing.Using a network of radio antennae around the globe SKA will advance radio astronomy in understanding how the universe evolved and challenging Einsteins theory of relativity. With receivers across Africa and Australia, its dishes and antennae will provide a large scale 3D structure of the entire Universe.Professor Phil Diamond, Director General of the SKA Organisation, said: This is a really exciting announcement for the SKA and a solid proof that the project is now really underway. With such a major investment secured there is no stopping it.The UK expertise is such that it has played key roles in developing the SKA project through to the detailed design phase currently underway and being supported through the grants being announced, won work packages in these vital data handling areas and most significantly, currently host the project office at the Jodrell Bank Observatory near Manchester for this global, billion Euro project.The 19M from STFC will consist of funding to the consortium of institutes involved in the global consortia designing the project. These include the Universities of Cambridge, Manchester and Oxford, University College London and the University of Southampton, and support for STFCs national laboratories at RAL, Daresbury and the UK Astronomy Technology Center. The support will keep the UK at the forefront of the design activities in the SKA project, in the design of computing and software systems, data transportation and processing, novel antenna designs and the approach to controlling such a huge network of telescope infrastructure.The science done by SKA will help us understand some of the strangest questions in astronomy, and a whole generation of astronomers will be able to use this inspiring facility to transform the way we understand the universe.Contacts:Wendy EllisonSTFC Press Officer+44(0)1925 603232, cell: +44(0)7912 177935wendy.ellison@stfc.ac.ukCorinne MoseseSTFC Press Officer+44(0)1793 442870, cell: +44(0)7557 317200corinne.mosese@stfc.ac.ukUK

I

nvolvement in SKA* The University of Manchester is a member of five of the SKA consortia: Signal and Data Transport (SaDT), Science Data Processor (SDP), Central Signal Processor (CSP), Low Frequency Aperture Array (LFAA), and Mid Frequency Aperture Array (MFAA), one of which (SaDT) it leads. The Group is led by Dr. Keith Grainge.* The University of Oxford is taking a major role in the development of the Low-Frequency Aperture Array and in the Central Signal Processing and Science Data Processor consortia. Oxford is also one of the key universities involved in preparation for the scientific exploitation of the SKA, with members on several of the SKA Science Working Groups. The Oxford SKA team is based in Department of Physics and the Oxford e-Research Center, led by Professors Mike Jones and David De Roure respectively.* The University of Cambridge is leading the global Science Data Processor (SDP) consortium. The SDP work involves designing the hardware and software for the massive scale of data processing required for SKA Phase 1, building on decades of local expertise. The universitys High Performance Computing service will house a laboratory for testing computer implementations and to test scalability of architectures to the enormous proportions needed for SKA. Professor Paul Alexander leads the work. Cambridge also leads the work developing the low frequency antennas and system design for SKA1, for the Low Frequency Aperture Array consortium.* Engineers at STFCs Rutherford Appleton Laboratory are involved in the Central Signal Processor work package.* Expertise and infrastructure access at STFCs Scientific Computing Department and the Hartree Center at STFCs Daresbury Laboratory are playing a key role in the Science Data Processor activity.* The UK Astronomy Technology Center (UKATC), part of STFC and the UKs national center for astronomical technology, will lead one of the critical elements of the Telescope Manager activity. This builds on more than a decade of experience in developing software for observation preparation, telescope control and operation, most recently for the ALMA telescope array in Chile. Members of the Systems Engineering group at the UKATC are involved in the Central Signal Processor work package.SKA website:http://www.skatelescope.orgSKA images:https://www.skatelescope.org/multimedia/image/Amazing facts on the SKA:https://www.skatelescope.org/newsandmedia/outreachandeducation/amazingfacts/The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC,http://www.stfc.ac.uk) is keeping the UK at the forefront of international science and tackling some of the most significant challenges facing society such as meeting our future energy needs, monitoring and understanding climate change, and global security. The Council has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise in materials science, space and ground-based astronomy technologies, laser science, microelectronics, wafer scale manufacturing, particle and nuclear physics, alternative energy production, radio communications and radar. STFC operates or hosts world class experimental facilities including in the UK the ISIS pulsed neutron source, the Central Laser Facility, and LOFAR, and is also the majority shareholder in Diamond Light Source Ltd. It enables UK researchers to access leading international science facilities by funding membership of international bodies including European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). STFC is one of seven publicly-funded research councils. It is an independent, non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.

Originally posted here:

119M Investment to Open New Scientific Frontiers in Astronomy