Skip to main content

The beat goes on: This drummer uses a bionic arm to lay down the groove


Who’s afraid of the inevitable cyborg assimilation? With the help of a music technology professor and advanced bionic technology, one-handed drummer Jason Barnes can now play his instrument better than ever.

Barnes, who lost his right forearm and hand due to an electrocution accident in 2012, initially contacted Georgia Tech professor Gil Weinberg after seeing a video of his robotic marimba player, Shimon. After Weinberg heard the drummer’s story, the duo collaborated on a bionic arm custom-made for Barnes to play the drums. “The drummer essentially becomes a cyborg,” explained Weinberg to the New Scientist last year.

Related Videos

Weinberg further explained in a video interview with The Atlantic (above) that Barnes primarily wanted to be able to control the grip of the stick. “But he doesn’t have a wrist so he cannot control how hard he hits and that’s very important — a lot of expression from drummers comes from being able to hit very tight, to hit very loose… I really saw the potential. I thought we can make something amazing from that.”

Barnes’ prosthetic arm, an electromechanical device developed over several months, functions by means of a process called electromyography. After Weinberg and his team documented his drumming motions based on how he flexes, they programmed the prosthetic to recreate the motions. The device picks up on electrical signals from his upper arm which control the grip and speed of the drumstick. For example, tensing his bicep more can cause the prosthetic to grip the stick or hit the drum harder. The device also features a second stick, controlled by its own motor, which produces a “new beat with a complementary rhythm and melody,” according to the New Scientist.

Barnes now frequently performs with Weinberg and the professor’s band of robots. “Having a half-robot, half-man band just kind of coincided with each other,” Barnes explained to The Atlantic. “The robots, they never mess up so everything’s on time, everything stays — so you can get to a point where the music sounds really robotic and just too perfect and there’s no feel behind it.

Weinberg realized his band needed the human element to put it all together. “When it becomes your human emotion and expression and you are met with robots that have computation power and mechanical abilities, there can be a spark that could lead to amazing music that can really be something new and unique.”

Editors' Recommendations

OnePlus Buds Pro 2’s spatial audio makes me want to ditch the AirPods Pro
OnePlus Buds Pro 2 black case on a cork coaster and black earbuds on a white and gray table top.

The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 Bluetooth earbuds are among a half-dozen gadgets OnePlus launched at its Cloud 11 event. These earbuds intend to elevate your sound experience with a rich and highly customizable audio profile, Google's Fast Pair support, high-fidelity (Hi-Fi) audio through the LDAC and LHDC Bluetooth audio codecs, Dolby Audio, and noise cancellation.

While these features have essentially been carried over -- and slightly improved -- over the first generation of the OnePlus Buds Pro launched last year, the Buds Pro 2 are equipped with spatial audio capabilities that help create a realistic and experiential 3D audio space around you. Along with spatial audio, the earbuds also support head tracking to simulate an ambiance that changes as you move your head around.

Read more
Apple AirPlay 2 supports 24-bit lossless audio, but you can’t use it
An Apple AirPlay icon hovering above an Apple HomePod speaker.

Apple's wireless platform for audio and video streaming -- AirPlay -- is one of the best ways to play music from an Apple device to a wireless speaker. When at home, on a Wi-Fi network, it outperforms Bluetooth thanks to its wider bandwidth. The conventional wisdom has always been that AirPlay sets a hard limit on audio quality: iPhones and other Apple devices can only transmit lossless CD-quality audio, at 16-bit/44.1kHz, to an AirPlay-enabled speaker, leaving the technology incapable of supporting the higher-res streams now being offered by Apple Music and others.  But it seems that AirPlay can actually do 24-bit audio. Sort of.

The new second-gen HomePod, which Apple released in January, can stream lossless 24-bit/48kHz audio directly from Apple Music, using its own Wi-Fi connection to the internet. This isn't news: Apple added 24-bit lossless playback (via Apple's ALAC codec) to the first-gen HomePod and HomePod mini in 2021, along with Dolby Atmos support.

Read more
Klipsch follows the success of The Fives with The Sevens and Nines powered speakers
Klipsch The Sevens in walnut finish next to a turntable.

Most of the focus on getting better TV sound has been on soundbars, but when Klipsch introduced The Fives in 2020, it reminded us that a really good set of stereo speakers can sometimes be the best solution of all. Apparently, we're not the only ones who thought so because Klipsch has introduced two new Heritage Wireless models -- The Sevens ($1,299) and The Nines ($1,499) -- which take the same winning formula from The Fives and add more power for bigger spaces. Both models are available starting January 31 at Klipsch.com, in both ebony and walnut wood finishes.

The Sevens and The Nines use the same midcentury modern design as The Fives, with wooden enclosures and removable cloth grilles. Easy access controls are placed on the top of the right channel speaker, giving you the ability to switch sources and adjust volume without needing a remote -- though a remote is also included for full couch-based control.

Read more