Hasta La Gadget!

It’s not often that we stumble upon classical music on the floor at SIGGRAPH, so the tune of Bach’s Cantata 147 was reason enough to stop by Gocen’s small table in the annual graphics trade show’s Emerging Technologies hall. At first glance, the four Japanese men at the booth could have been doing anything on their MacBook Pros — there wasn’t a musical instrument in sight — but upon closer inspection, they each appeared to be holding identical loupe-like devices, connected to each laptop via USB. Below each self-lit handheld reader were small stacks of sheet music, and it soon became clear that each of the men was very slowly moving their devices from side to side, playing a seemingly perfect rendition of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

The project, called Gocen, is described by its creators as a “handwritten notation interface for musical performance and learning music.” Developed at Tokyo Metropolitan University, the device can read a printed (or even handwritten) music score in real-time using optical music recognition (OMR), which is sent through each computer to an audio mixer, and then to a set of speakers. The interface is entirely text and music-based — musicians, if you can call them that, scan an instrument name on the page before sliding over to the notes, which can be played back at different pitches by moving the reader vertically along the line. It certainly won’t replace an orchestra anytime soon — it takes an incredible amount of care to play in a group without falling out of a sync — but Gocen is designed more as a learning tool than a practical device for coordinated performances. Hearing exactly how each note is meant to sound makes it easier for students to master musical basics during the beginning stages of their educations, providing instant feedback for those that depend on self-teaching. You can take a closer look in our hands-on video after the break, in a real-time performance demo with the Japan-based team.

Continue reading Gocen optical music recognition can read a printed score, play notes in real-time (hands-on video)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Handhelds, Peripherals

Gocen optical music recognition can read a printed score, play notes in real-time (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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People who have great singing voices either worked hard to get there or were born with it. Then there are the others who trained themselves using the Beauty Voice Trainer.

It’s another one of Japan’s nifty self-improvement contraptions that promises to “give you the dulcet voice you know you’ve always wanted.” It’s different from the rest because it, for once, doesn’t promise to tone your facial muscles or get rid of wrinkles like the Rhythm Slim Chin Exerciser or the Smile Lines Face Belt.

Instead, the Beauty Voice Trainer sets out to loosen up your throat so that your voice passage opens to allow stronger sounds to pass through. At least, this is what they claim it does on their website.

It also comes with a tuning fork so you can reach the notes you want to reach and identify proper intervals between pitches. Use it for five minutes a day and you might see your singing voice improve (or not.)

The Beauty Voice Trainer retails for $59(USD). That’s a couple of hundred bucks less than what you’d have to pay if you hired a voice coach, but again, no guarantees that it’ll make it any more likely you’ll get picked on The Voice.

Every time I go to a Japanese restaurant, I stare in awe at the knife and food assembly skills of the sushi chefs. I can’t imagine making such perfect sushi myself, unless I could afford a sushi robot of my own. But with this gadget, I might be able to at least approximate decent looking sushi.

The Sushi Bazooka is a special extrusion sleeve that you load sushi ingredients into. Just layer in your rice, veggies and fish, snap it together and squeeze. Out squirts a perfectly round sushi roll ready to be wrapped in seaweed and sliced. It’s like one of those old Play-Doh Fun Factory machines, but with fish and rice instead!

While it does help you produce a perfect looking sushi roll, it won’t do anything ensure that you don’t kill your dinner guests with raw fish bacteria, so be sure to stick with fresh ingredients, and wash this thing thoroughly between uses. If you fancy yourself a homestyle sushi chef, you can grab the Sushi Bazooka over at Strapya World for about $25 (USD).

[via Design You Trust]

The decision to invest in an electric vehicle would be much easier to justify if the car in question offered unlimited range. That appears to be the concept behind a Toyohashi University research group’s wireless power prototype, which can successfully transmit electricity through a 10 centimeter-thick concrete block. During a demonstration in Yokohama, Japan, the team sent between 50 and 60 watts of power through a pair of concrete blocks to two tires, which then juiced up a light bulb (you can see the rig just above). The project is called EVER (Electric Vehicle on Electrified Roadway), and could someday be used to keep cars moving along a highway without any need to pull over for a recharge, thanks to a constant stream of electricity coming from below the road. There are some serious obstacles to overcome before EVER can get some wheels turning — namely, a need to pump nearly 100 times the current maximum load through concrete that’s twice as thick as what they’ve managed today, not to mention improving undisclosed efficiency levels — but the group reportedly said that it’s up to the task, making us fairly optimistic that such a solution could one day get us from A to B without petrol. Until then, you’ll probably want to plan out a pit stop or two before you leave the garage.

Japanese group transmits electricity through 4-inch concrete block, could power cars on roads originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Jul 2012 00:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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