Musical Hips! Monash University Student Invents 'hipDisc' Musical Hula Hoop

Hula hoop is a very popular aerobic exercising accessory. You might have seen people rotating a Hula Hoop with extreme perfection around their waist. Many people never learn how to do it while some others feel awkward to move their hips in public, but what if it is a musical instrument? A PhD Danielle Wilde student from Monash University who is also the only artist to receive a prestigious Australian Prime Minister's Endeavour Research Award has invented a new type of musical instrument which will help you create music using your hips and waist. Perhaps first ever musical instrument invented in centuries, a hip disc uses two circular plates to be worn around your body to create music.

#-Link-Snipped-#
hipDisc

The device is invented with an aim of inspiring people to move their waists and hips and to help them have fun while they practice to make highly coordinated movements. The invention; although a ‘musical instrument’ is an important tool in achieving our body and mind coordination. It also helps people in extending their body through a simultaneously interdependent exploration of sound. With the new invention christened the hipDisc, Danielle has interlinked the torso and hips by two discs which are so positioned such that the performer is able to read the switches/music sensors. hipDisc is designed in such a way that even a novice can play it easily without much difficulty; however a thorough practice would result in a maestro.

The device uses twelve equidistant switches on the circular discs. each switch is consists of two parts. One is placed on upper part while its complimentary is placed on the bottom disc. It requires the touching both parts to create a sound which can be achieved through a properly coordinated movement of waist and hip.

The sounds produced from the hip disc are not produced from anything like strings instead it uses the modern microcontroller technology. hipDisc consists of Stamp 2 microcontroller which is triggered by the twelve switches to produce sound. The sound is then amplified in an amplifier and then the sound emerges out through a speaker connected to it.

However if you are thinking if this is a possible device for exercise, then perhaps you are thinking in a wrong direction. It does requires flexibility in body motions and personal physical strength is a ruling factor in the new invention still thinking that it could be an exercising device would might be termed as "hurry". Well this is not the only invention of Ms. Wilde. Danielle is the first to practice a PhD in Fine Arts at the CSIRO, where she works in the Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering. Presently she is busy preparing for a solo exhibition on August 28, in which exhibits like body-worn lasers and interactive LED garments will also be kept for display. All the inventions which she has made are really astonishing and would really make "entertainment of the future".

Source: #-Link-Snipped-#