PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

The perfect connection between guitar and computer

The perfect connection between guitar and computer
2011-07-12
(Press-News.org) Rapidly, but expressively and with amazing ease, the guitarist's fingers move over the strings on the neck of the instrument. His fingertips move up and down and a vibrato resonates. From the guitar a cable leads to a laptop, which records the virtuoso performance in minute detail. The computer registers each vibrato, each bend precisely and almost instantaneously. Afterwards the guitarist can play back the digital recording and process it on a computer.

The guitar incorporates a piece of Fraunhofer technology. Engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST have developed a sensor which translates complex guitar-playing movements into digital control signals. "This enables the different techniques such as vibrato and bending to be precisely captured," explains Saskia Biehl, head of the micro and sensor technology group. The key element is a thin film bearing the name DiaForce®, which coats the tailpiece, the part of the instrument anchoring the guitar strings to the body.

DiaForce® is based on amorphous carbon and is piezoresistive. Biehl explains what this means: "When the player changes the string tension, the pressure on the film changes. This in turn leads to a change in resistance, which is measured by electrodes on the film." To be able to record the string tension forces and therefore the various playing techniques accurately and with as little delay as possible, Biehl and her group have tested various coating parameters and contact materials. They achieved good results with a tailpiece coated with a ten-micrometer DiaForce® film. The intention is also to measure the strength of the string vibration, which would make it additionally possible to digitally represent the stroke strength and fading – regardless of whether the player plucks the strings with their fingers or a plectrum.

The development partner for this Fraunhofer technology is M3i Technologies GmbH. The company has already developed a laser-based sensor system which captures the pitch of chords and individual notes. A software program converts this data into digital control signals. DiaForce® supplements this development and makes it the perfect sensor system for guitar playing. The Fraunhofer research engineers now aim to develop suitable processes for mass producing the DiaForce® coating as a low-cost tension sensor for guitars. "We also want to extend its application to other musical instruments," says Biehl. "After all, force is exerted at various points on many string instruments, and so the possible applications are numerous."

In the future, coated tailpieces could replace the pickups on electric guitars which convert the string vibration into an electrical signal to create the sound from an electric guitar. "The DiaForce® film will need to be particularly sensitive for this, which is what we are working on right now," concludes Biehl.



INFORMATION:


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
The perfect connection between guitar and computer

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Deformed limbs one of several birth defects linked to smoking in pregnancy

2011-07-12
Missing or deformed limbs, clubfoot, facial disorders and gastrointestinal problems are some of the most common birth defects found to be associated with smoking during pregnancy, according to a major new report led by scientists at UCL. The study, published today in Human Reproduction Update, is the first comprehensive review to identify the specific birth defects (malformations) most associated with smoking. Despite public health advice which warns of the harms of maternal smoking, such as miscarriage and premature birth, in the UK 45% of women under 20 and 17% overall ...

Source to Attend Outdoor Show 2011 in Germany

2011-07-12
Source Outdoor will be attending Outdoor Show 2011. The Show takes place this week in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Source will be located at Hall B1 - Booth 206. The show is an exhibition dedicated to all things outdoor and is an appropriate venue for Source Outdoor to launch the new Spresh Bottle. The Spresh Bottle brings modern technology to the bottle, the end result of which is a design that is sleek and fresh. The squeezable bottle allows users to drink all in one hand motion. No longer does one have to sip or tilt one's head. It is also durable and leakage safe. ...

Out-of-body experiences linked to neural instability and biases in body representation

2011-07-12
Milan, Italy, 11 July 2011 – Although out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are typically associated with migraine, epilepsy and psychopathology, they are quite common in healthy and psychologically normal individuals as well. However, they are poorly understood. A new study, published in the July 2011 issue of Elsevier's Cortex, has linked these experiences to neural instabilities in the brain's temporal lobes and to errors in the body's sense of itself – even in non clinical populations. Dr Jason Braithwaite from the Behavioural Brain Sciences Centre, School of Psychology, ...

Expert help from a distance

Expert help from a distance
2011-07-12
Machines stretch from one end of the production hall to another, each of them an important part of the manufacturing process. When one of these complex pieces of machinery stops working, the on-site technicians grab their tools and the manual and try to fix it – but sometimes the only solution is to call the manufacturer for tips on how to get it working again. The problem is that giving advice over the telephone is never easy: Do they mean the screw on the right or the screw on the left? Well, that depends on which side of the machine you are standing on! Even putting ...

New Justice Department Memo Raises Specter of Criminal Charges for Dispensaries

2011-07-12
On June 29th, 2011 the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. issued a memorandum to local federal prosecutors clarifying that medical marijuana dispensaries are not off-limits when it comes to federal prosecutions. This memorandum was somewhat contradictory of an earlier Justice Department memorandum by Attorney General Eric Holder implying that federal prosecutors would not pursue criminal charges against medical marijuana dispensaries. The policy change has many dispensary owners nervous, particularly in Washington State, where medical marijuana has been legal for over ...

Underwater Antarctic volcanoes discovered in the Southern Ocean

2011-07-12
Scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have discovered previously unknown volcanoes in the ocean waters around the remote South Sandwich Islands. Using ship-borne sea-floor mapping technology during research cruises onboard the RRS James Clark Ross, the scientists found 12 volcanoes beneath the sea surface – some up to 3km high. They found 5km diameter craters left by collapsing volcanoes and 7 active volcanoes visible above the sea as a chain of islands. The research is important also for understanding what happens when volcanoes erupt or collapse underwater ...

TeamSupport.com Integrates With Facebook

TeamSupport.com Integrates With Facebook
2011-07-12
TeamSupport.com (http://www.TeamSupport.com) - an emerging leader in SaaS-based customer service and help desk tools - today announced an integration of the company's flagship TeamSupport product with social networking phenomenon Facebook. "With some 150 million users in the United States alone, Facebook is the 'go to' destination for friends, families, and increasingly, businesses seeking to connect with their customers," noted Robert C. Johnson, CEO of TeamSupport. "Our corporate users are acutely aware of the impact that responsive customer communications ...

ICT and automotive: New app reduces motorway pile-ups by 40 percent

2011-07-12
According to the researchers from the University of Bologna (Italy) who designed the app, this automatic accident detection system could reduce the number of vehicles involved in pile-ups by up to 40 percent. For now, at least, that's what it does on paper and in computer simulations, as is described in an article published in the scientific journal Computer Networks. Road tests will be carried out this summer, on the streets and highways of Los Angeles, around the campus of the University of California. Here, together with engineers from Toyota, other scientists are also ...

Resilience amongst the long-term ill

2011-07-12
People who have a long term debilitating physical illness demonstrate mental resilience according to Understanding Society, the world's largest longitudinal household study. The first findings reveal that people diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, respiratory or cardiovascular disease report similar mental health scores to those without physical illness. The survey's findings suggest that those people who may not be able to function well physically because of an illness do not necessarily suffer problems with their mental health - for example with their concentration, confidence ...

UC research points to best practices to reduce recidivism

UC research points to best practices to reduce recidivism
2011-07-12
The Ohio residential correctional programs – halfway houses and community-based correctional facilities – that are most successful at reducing recidivism among offenders enjoy an impressive track record. An offender participating in the state's most successful programs is 50 percent less likely to engage in criminal activity in the two-year period following release vs. offenders who receive no guidance or services. In contrast, the least successful of these programs actually increased the chances of criminal recidivism. The least successful programs increased recidivism ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

Targeting FGFR2 may prevent or delay some KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancers

[Press-News.org] The perfect connection between guitar and computer