Daito Manabe is a Japanese artist and programmer who stimulated his facial muscles using small electric pulses and synced it with music in his Electric Stimulus project (below). He’s also put LEDs in his mouth. Why, you might ask? Why, in the name of science, of course. Manabe’s experiments attempt to meld the human body with technology, looking at how it can be used in conjunction with ourselves, rather than a separate entity, creating a hybrid of man and machine. After all, the human body itself is a machine—an incredibly well functioning organic machine.Manabe’s latest experiment uses myoelectric (an electrical impulse that results in the contraction of muscle fibres) sensors to create a drum machine out of a human body. Attaching touch sensors to his hands, Manabe sends electric pulses to his friend, and in turn generates sound and makes his friend’s face twitch in the process. Who knows where this will lead? Could we see a future where a band doesn’t just play, but is, their instruments?
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