This prototype of the guitar combines computer vision, gesture recognition, music control and music synthesis that allows anyone to learn to play in just a few seconds. All the user needs to do is to step in front of the camera, pull on a pair of orange gloves, and play the air guitar. The computer recognizes the user’s playing gestures, and controls a physical sound model accordingly. The company Virtual Air Guitar Company Ltd. has been established to take the technology to the mass market.
“We decided that a console game would be the best way to bring this to the mass market, said Aki Kanerva, the CEO of Virtual Air Guitar Company Ltd. “We're currently in advanced stages with negotiations with several major game publishers. We also believe bars and nightclubs everywhere should have a Virtual Air Guitar next to the karaoke machines.”
Kanerva said the game will be released for the Christmas 2007 market and the company is aiming for a release in both the US and Europe markets that would give users “an instant rock star experience through cool air guitar performances".
The original prototype was developed at the Telecommunications and Multimedia Laboratory of the Helsinki University of Technology under ALMA, an EU-funded research project ALMA exploring the future of music through physical modeling (mathematical simulation of vibrating objects such as a guitar string) and novel user interfaces for these models.
Kanerva said the company intends to release more games in the future. “Our vision is for the Virtual Air Guitar to become known as the new karaoke throughout the world.”
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