Researchers at Hewlett-Packard are developing a DJ track-mixing and scratching device they believe to be as significant to music as was the first electric guitar.
HP's DJammer is a prototype handheld gadget DJs can use to mimic the sound of scratching vinyl simply by moving the device around. So, if the operator makes a scratching motion in the air, arrays of internal motion sensors translate movement into music, and the DJammer "scratches" the music as though the DJ were manipulating a record.
Linked to a digital music library, the device can also mix tracks. It finds the entry and end points for tracks, and can cycle through a song collection. And it is wireless, so a DJ can control the music from anywhere in a room...
...The DJammer was created by HP research and development scientist Mat Hans, who began the project in 2002 with New York's Scratch DJ Academy, a school for DJs...
