Musical Mittens
Scientists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver have invented gloves that sing when you move your hands.
The musical mittens generate a computerised voice that replicates the sound of real vocal chords with every gesture. Yet – because the movements inside our larynxes are much more refined – the noise produced sounds remarkably like the Star Wars villain Darth Vader.
The inventors are confident the system could one day be simplified to help people with speech problems communicate.
But right now, it is enormously complicated and takes about 100 hours to play the extensive range of sounds that it is capable of.
Sidney Fels, who led their development, told New Scientist: ‘It’s very hard, it’s like trying to do your email while talking on the phone.’ Continue reading