July 1, 2005

University Researchers Make Device That Turns Drivers Into Musicians

By VINCENT KIERNAN

Forget those tedious piano lessons that your mother made you suffer through as a child.

Researchers at the University of Southern California have developed a computerized system that allows the user to play music using a steering wheel and gas and brake pedals.

Essentially, the researchers say, the user "drives" his or her way through the music with the system, known as the Expression Synthesis Project. The device permits people to experience playing music without having to