What would you do if you were to grow an extra limb? Embrace the oddity as well as advantage of it all, of course! Jason Barnes from Atlanta who had his right arm amputated from below the elbow two years back was on the receiving end of a robotic prosthetic arm, thanks to a certain Profession Weinberg, where this particular robotic arm is capable of manipulating a pair of drumsticks. The first stick will be controlled with electrical signals emitted from his upper arm muscles, while the other stick can tune in to the music being played, where it will then have an algorithm that helps it improvise on its very own beat. Not quite General Grievous in the Star Wars universe, but we’re on our way there.
I guess we can more or less label Jason Barnes as a three armed drummer now, no? The prosthesis will rely on a technique that is known as electromyography, where it can pick up on electrical signals from the upper arm muscles. Tensing one’s biceps would allow Mr. Barnes to control a motor which allows the prosthetic arm to move, as well as determine the tightness. A motor will control the other autonomous drumstick which has been added to the robot arm, possibly making him the envy of other drummers elsewhere.
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