A researcher at MIT has developed a robotic device that helps students learn to play the drums. It supposedly speeds up the time that it takes for new students to get the hang of playing. It is a device which is actually a robotic arm designed by Graham Grindlay which is called the Haptic Guidance System (or HAGUS). The gadget has a drum stick fastened to a set of motors which a user holds while being led on beat. The arm is held in place by a brace, while the machine plays back a pre recorded pattern. “Grindlay found that students with no drumming experience were able to hit the drum 18 percent more effectively after using the HAGUS. A spokesman from the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford says the work does a “wonderful job” “.

via engadget