Technabob » sing

Disembodied Head Can Sing You a Lullaby or Two

Hazel Chua — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:16:52 +0000

Don’t worry, it’s not the disembodied head of a real person, although it definitely looks like one. This humanoid head is smarter than it looks, because it can actually read simplified music scores before singing it to you (or your child.)

I don’t think a parent would want to have this robot head sing lullabies to their babies, although it’s more than capable.

The man behind the head is Chyi-Yeu Lin of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Taipei. Lin and his colleagues didn’t program the head to read music by inputting anything into it; rather, the head’s eyes are equipped with cameras that can take snapshots of sheet music, read it, and then produce an output from the musical score.

Pretty advanced technology, although the bust looks just a tad too creepy overall.

[via New Scientist via Dvice]

Hrp-4c Singing Robot: Robo-Tune

Lambert Varias — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:43:51 +0000

Just like humans, singing is a (synthesized) talent among robots. Some have it, and some don’t. AIST’s HRP-4C, a relative of the HRP-4 humanoid robot, was born to sing like a human being. An in-house developed software called VocalListener is responsible for synthesizing a natural singing voice. The effect is startling, because HRP-4C really does sound like a real person. Also I’m afraid that if I criticize her she’ll find out where I live and destroy me.

Here she is, entertaining the crowd at HRP-4C:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I’m not too sold on the efficacy of VocaWatcher yet, but I guess it’s really the material and make of her face that’s at fault. No software can make that face less creepy. Watch her performance last year so you can have a better idea of how much HRP-4C has improved. All she needs is a better face and a cover of The Humans Are Dead and she’ll be a hit for sure.

[via DigInfo via Gearfuse]

Singing Kero Alarm Clock: Dueling Frogs Wake You From Your Peaceful Slumber

Technabob — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:15:42 +0000

After watching and listening to the smiley singing frogs standing on the top of this weird Japanese clock, I’m pretty sure that I’d never want this thing in my bedroom. I have enough trouble easing my way into the day already, and to be blasted out of my deep REM cycles by a couple of loudmouth frogs singing unintelligibly would be enough for me to get out the baseball bat.

On the other hand, I suppose that if you’re a really deep sleeper and find yourself constantly hitting the snooze bar, there’s pretty much no way you’ll be able to keep sleeping once these little green guys get to croaking out their morning tunes. And if you get bored with the first song “Chorus of the Frogs,” you can always press a button and be serenaded with “The Peaceful Lake.” Trust me, once you listen to this thing, you’ll say there’s nothing peaceful about it.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The Singing Kero Clock was originally only available in Japan (where I believe it should have remained). However, our friends over at the Japan Trend Shop have been kind enough to see to it that the rest of the world can be tortured by the strains of these vocally-challenged froggies for the low, low price of $52 (USD).

Ribbit. Now wake the hell up!

Buck the Talking Stag Sings “Sweet Home Alabama”. My Head Hurts.

Lambert Varias — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:45:35 +0000

Sometimes I worry that the day would come when there’d be nothing weird to write about anymore. And sometimes I come across shit like this, a (fake) deer head mounted on a wooden plaque that can be ordered to “sing” Sweet Home Alabama whenever it senses movement. Good for scaring the hell out of visitors and would-be thieves, Buck the stag doesn’t sing a capella; the song bursts forth from his mouth complete with the house band and backing vocals.

Actually this could still be a lot weirder, like if Buck the stag sang Chinese death metal songs. Or if he randomly quoted Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. If you’re willing to pay for 5 minutes of stupid fun, go buy this at I Want One of Those for £30 ($50 USD).

[via Chip Chick]

Thumb Callouses Are So Over: Super Mario Bros Controlled With Music

Alisha K. — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:03:51 +0000

I love Mario, but even I have to admit that the old school games are, well, old. I’ve played ‘em a million times, and even though Super Mario Bros is a classic, it’s always fun to spice it up a little. I just never thought I’d see a musically-driven Mario Bros.

You read that right–this Super Mario Bros shuns the traditional controller and instead relies on music (clapping, drumming, singing) to get to that other castle. Artists Marc Sciglimpaglia and Phoenix Toews, the minds behind this remix, used “nin.reflux” software to hack the ROM in order to produce the effect.

And lo! There is even a video. Super Mario Hero-Band? I’d try it.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Offworld]

Sega Hitokara Karaoke Disco Ball: Just Add Off-Key Vocals

Technabob — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:00:26 +0000

You’ve gotta hand it to the Japanese. They managed to take the strains of howling, tone deaf, drunken business executives and turn them into a multi-billion dollar yen industry. Now you can bring the Karaoke experience to your living room, complete with a cheezy disco light show. (Minus the drunk business executives).

While it’s far from the only Karaoke system out there, what sets Segatoys’ new Hitokara Home Karaoke system apart from the crowd is the mirrored disco ball that spins and shines as you screech along to your favorite bubble gum pop tunes.

It’s also unique in the way it gets its songs. Instead of playing from a CD or DVD, the Hitokara interfaces with a handful of special Karaoke capable mobile phones so you can download songs from the Hitokara online collection which currently has a whopping 43,000 free tracks. But unless they have Rock You like a Hurricane on there, I’m not buying one. Lyrics appear on your phone as the sound streams out of the Hitokara’s stereo speakers, and the LED-illuminated disco ball spins.

The Hitokara will ship this December for ¥7140 (appx. $75 USD). I doubt you’ll see these anywhere outside of Japan for a while.

Super Mario Musical Glow Star Provides Invincibility

Technabob — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:45:15 +0000

Here’s a fun bit of decor for fans of Nintendo’s Super Mario games. It’s a friendly invincibility star from the game, which can play a little tune while it sits on your desk.

Just like those brilliant yellow stars in the Super Mario series, simply activate the star, and you’ll instantly feel invincible (even if your office-mates think you’re a complete dork). With a flip of the switch, the star glows and plays the familiar invincibility tune from the SMB games.

The way my typical work day goes, I think I’ll need to line up about a dozen of these to keep me safe from bureaucrats, whiners, brown-nosers and the other general annoyances of the day.

The star measures 5.75 inches and can be mounted on a wall or placed on your desk thanks to an included stand. It’s powered pair of AAA batteries, so you can take your invincibility on the road too.

The Super Mario Singing Glow Star is available from ThinkGeek for $17.99.

[via GeekAlerts]

Microsoft Mysong Generates Music From Vocals

Technabob — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:13:37 +0000

Up until now, singers needed to either play an instrument or the help of a professional accompanist to help them realize their musical ideas. With this new technology coming out of Microsoft Research, vocalists need only sing their ideas into a microphone to automatically generate musical accompaniment.

MySong “listens” to any sampled vocal melody, then automatically selects the best chords to go along with the song. Non-musicians can create professional-sounding music by just singing into a microphone connected to a computer with the special software installed. The system is demonstrated in the video below (I know the video is super cheesy, but the technology is still cool).

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Microsoft researchers Ian Simon, Dan Morris and Sumit Basu created the MySong prototype using a Hidden Markov Model and a musical database to figure out what chords will sound best with the vocals. Once the chords are generated, singers can make adjustments to the musical style using a couple of simple sliders in the user interface.

At this point, there aren’t any specific commercial plans for the technology, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it turn up in either musical composition software or even in video games.

[MySong via istartedsomething]

Robothespian Masters the Classics

Technabob — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:45:08 +0000

Back in the day, I did my stint designing lighting and sets for community theater companies, so I’ve seen more than my share of wooden acting. But this is the first time I’ve ever seen metal acting.

The RoboThespian is a life-sized robotic puppet, designed with one mission in mind — to entertain. Created by UK interactive exhibit builder Engineered Arts, the robot can do spoken parts, singing, story telling, and even some dance maneuvers. Now sit back and enjoy as RoboSapien performs some classic movie moments.

Here he is doing his DeNiro:

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And no robot act would be complete without some Aaahnold:

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How about a little salty old Robert Shaw from Jaws:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

RoboThespian does his best C3P0:

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I like to think this is a scene from A Clockwork Orange:

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While RoboThespian won’t be winning an Oscar anytime soon, he’s might be good enough to pull off a People’s Choice or a Golden Globe.

If you happen to live in the UK, you should be able to check out some of these guys performing at The Eden Project in Cornwall. Otherwise, Engineered Arts rents and sells these robots for use in special events, museums and entertainment facilities, so you might run into one the next time you head out to get some some culture.

Playstation 2 White Singstar Bundle Announced

Technabob — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:26:43 +0000

Regardless of whether or not the Sony PlayStation 2 is “last-generation,” there’s still plenty of interest out there in the console, thanks to its huge game library and bargain-basement pricing. To reinforce that the PS2 isn’t going anywhere, Sony has just announced this great new bundle.

At its core, the PS2 SingStar Bundle is a special white PS2 with a white Dual-Shock controller. In addition, you’ll get a copy of the karaoke game SingStar Pop and a pair of USB microphones so you and a friend can sing duets.

The grand total for all this casual gaming goodness? Just $149.99 USD. So if you’ve never bothered to pick up a PlayStation 2, there’s no better time.

Mr. Hopkinson’s Computer: if Stephen Hawking Could Sing

Technabob — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:38:12 +0000

Text-to-speech software meets alternative music with this strangely compelling computer which has been programmed to sing.

Mr. Hopkinson’s Computer sings covers of everything from Radiohead to Portishead to The Stone Roses in his computerized drone.

In the video clip below, he even does a little sassy monologue and sings The Pixies classic Gigantic along with a live band.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Be sure to check out Mr. Hopkinson’s Computer Myspace page for more tunes. There are few more tracks here . (He’s also got a “girlfriend,” the Audrey 3000).

[Thanks for the tip, Heather!]

Nintendo Wii Gets Voice Recognition

Technabob — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:23:55 +0000

Soon you’ll be able to speak to your Nintendo Wii. Heck, you’ll be able to sing to it too. Speech recognition middleware maker Fonix today announced the availability of their VoiceIn voice software for the Wii.

The software will enable developers to add voice command capabilities to games with little impact on CPU or memory usage. In addition, their a special Karaoke edition of the software will enable the Wii to report timing, pitch and accuracy of vocals, opening the gates to a wave of new singing games for the little console that could.

Fonix has previously provided voice recognition capabilities for other consoles such as the Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation 2 and Playstation 3, so it’s good to see the Wii get the same.

[Press Release]

Electronic Dog Speaks, Follows Commands, Does Karaoke

Technabob — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 21:25:24 +0000

Looking for a canine companion, but don’t have the patience for all the shedding and pooping? If you’re willing to learn a little Japanese, these electronic furry friends might fill the bill.

The Tomy Dacky Healing Partner Dog has six internal sensors which can react to human touch and praise. While they start out only able to bark, if you give them enough positive reinforcement, they’ll be asking you how your day was and singing you a birthday song in no time flat. Once fully trained, Dacky dogs will be able to speak up to 650 words (all in Japanese). Heck, they can even do Karaoke.

Gadget importer AudioCubes has gotten their hands on these cute little furballs from Japan, and is selling them for $99 a pup.

Digital Cowboy Ca-K7: Portable Karaoke Mp3 Player

Technabob — Fri, 25 May 2007 11:46:06 +0000

Think you’re the next American Idol? If that’s the case, you might want to pick up one of these MP3 players

The Digital Cowboy CA-K7 media player features the unique ability to remove vocals and a built-in microphone to sing along to your favorite tunes. The player can handle MP3, WMA, OGG audio formats and also has an FM radio built in. Its karaoke feature even lets you adjust key, pitch and echo for your vocals. The CA-K7 features a nice 1.8″ color display, and comes in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB versions.

I haven’t managed to find a U.S. importer for this player, but you can pick one up for UK importer KJGlobal and have it shipped stateside from there.

[via Akihabaranews]