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.

Recommended 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.”

Chris Leo Palermino
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Chris Leo Palermino is a music, tech, business, and culture journalist based between New York and Boston. He also contributes…
How to download music from SoundCloud on desktop and mobile
Soundcloud Interface on a Macbook.

If you're a die-hard music fan, you probably keep a curated library of playlists packed with your favorite artists and albums on Spotify, Apple Music, or whatever your favorite music streaming app is. But how do you discover the best indie artists today? Some music-streaming platforms are better than others at celebrating the ‘unsung gem’ acts, but one of the most reliable forums for new, off-the-grid tunes is SoundCloud.

Founded in 2007, SoundCloud has always prioritized music that’s a bit under the radar. With over 320 million tracks in its library, the platform will even let you download a majority of its songs and albums.

Read more
The best kids headphones of 2025: for fun, safety, and sound
Two kids using the Puro Sound PuroQuiet Plus to watch something on a tablet.

Kid-friendly consumer tech is all the rage these days, so it’s no surprise that there’s an entire market of headphones designed exclusively for young ones. But when we think “kid-friendly,” sometimes we imagine products that are built to be a bit more throwaway than their adult counterparts. That’s not the case with the products on our list of the best headphones for kids, though.

We want our child-tailored headphones to include parental-controlled volume limiters, to ensure our children aren’t harming their eardrums. Pretty much every entry on our list checks this vital box, but we also wanted to point you and yours toward products that offer exceptional noise-canceling, built-in mics for phone and video calls, and long-lasting batteries for schooldays or a long flight.

Read more
How to master your equalizer settings for the perfect sound
An equalizer from eqMac.

While most people will simply flip on the radio or load up Spotify to listen to music, audiophiles like to dig a bit deeper and customize their experience. This often comes in the form of adjustments to the equalizer, which offers the freedom to tweak every aspect of the sound booming out of headphones or speakers. Even some streaming services now have built-in EQs, giving you more ways than ever to play with your music and find something that best fits your ears.

Tinkering with the equalizer can be daunting to newcomers, as there are tons of cryptic settings you can manipulate. And if you mess with the wrong one, your sound quality might take a nasty hit. Thankfully, learning the basics isn't too difficult.

Read more