Virtual Drum Kit Big Hit

Aerodrums uses motion-tracking software that watches you play.

12:30 13 April 2015

The drums, which is considered one of the world’s oldest instruments, has just been upgraded through the introduction of Aerodrums, which uses motion-tracking software that watches the users play. Without hitting any skins, sound is produced and translated into a MIDI signal in real time. 

 

Aerodrums co-founder Richard Lee said: "We use a high-speed camera to make sure that we can accurately determine the speed that the sticks are moving and this important to provide an authentic drumming experience.

 

"When you hit softly you expect to hear a very soft note and when you hit hard you expect to hear an accented note. So we put a lot of work into modelling the volume response of real drums."

 

Meanwhile, another firm created another product that mimics a traditional drum kit. 

 

John Worthington of Sensorpoint said: "Our background is sensors. It's how you hook computers up to real-world objects.

 

"So this got us thinking, could we take our sensors and use them to capture that performance information from a great drummer, and be able to make an electronic drum that played well."

 

"I don't think there's anything wrong with the traditional drum kit. Jambé is just a different set of options."