DJ Computer?!! This is horrible

[carusos1235645]

Here's an article that going to make you sick.........

Computer DJ uses biofeedback to

pick tracks

19:00 14 November 01

Duncan Graham-Rowe

A computerised DJ that uses

feedback from the dancers to

generate new music has been

developed by artificial intelligence

experts at Hewlett-Packard, meaning

clubbers may soon only have

themselves to blame if they do not

like the music they are dancing to.

Dave Cliff of HP's laboratories in

Bristol says that the "HPDJ" will

monitor the way dancers respond to

the music and compose new tracks

according to how animated the

crowd becomes.

In 2000, New Scientist reported on

an earlier version of the HPDJ and

pitted it against a human DJ in a

London venue to see how it fared

with a live audience. Although the

software managed to fool a third of

the clubbers into believing a human

DJ was at the turntables, our panel of

professional DJs was more

sceptical. But then again, they will be

the ones to lose out if it works.

The earlier version takes dance

tracks and works out the best

sequence in which to play them. It

can also mix them, seamlessly

fading one song into the next while

adjusting the tempo.

Cliff says that the biggest gripe that

DJs such as BBC Radio 1's Judge

Jules had with it was that it could not

gauge the crowd's response to the

music. That got Cliff thinking about

ways to improve it.

Heart monitor

His solution is to give each clubber a

device like a wristwatch that monitors

their behaviour, feeding info back to

the HPDJ via a "Bluetooth" wireless

link. "It tracks your location,

measures your heart and

perspiration rate, and an

accelerometer monitors how active

you are," Cliff explains.

Every dance song comprises a

number of different tracks, such as

drum patterns, bass lines, keyboard

hooks and vocals. To create a song,

the HPDJ chooses tracks from a

large library and then modifies and

overlays them, based on the vibe

coming from the dance floor.

So how does it work? The HPDJ

uses a "genetic algorithm", a type of

program inspired by evolution. It

uses a survival-of-the-fittest

approach to create new and better

tunes.

In the case of the HPDJ, the different

tracks are the "genes", and the

inputs from the dancers are the

"fitness" factors, essentially deciding

whether or not particular

combinations of genes survive.

Hitting the floor

If the track sounds so awful that

people cannot get into it, they may

wander off to the bar or dance less

enthusiastically, says Cliff. So HPDJ

will then try to improve the music,

experimenting with different beats

and bass lines, or speeding up the

tempo in a bid to coax more people

back onto the dance floor.

When the crowd gets into the music,

the HPDJ will sense that more

people are on the dance floor and

monitor how actively they are

dancing. It will then gradually build

up the tempo to whip the dancers

into a brief frenzy, before calming

things down for a chill-out period.

Cliff also envisages a novel spin-off:

the software could be linked to a CD

recorder, so as you left a club you'd

be given a CD with the music you

helped to create.

[breakbeatz2]

huh??? um, i think some things should be left up to people

not all people respond similarly to good tunes, and not everyone likes to be very animated in clubs. just because i am not dancing, but am sitting down taking a break, dosent mean that i dont like the music. this idea sounds a bit far-fetched

[mane]

Hello

I also agree music is subjective nowadays, people often tend to not dance,

but how about this, what if the dance floor was so packed that most people couldnt dance, then what?

Mane

[ibclubbin]

sometimes people are so busy looking ahead they trip over their own feet and fall....if you ask me, this is a silly idea by people who are simply trying to be innovators and who are overestimating the demand for such a product

people dont go to clubs to DJ...they go to hear someone else DJ, and they go to specific places to hear that DJ...if the majority of people went out to a place that had this DJ computer, it would be a waste because the computer would be playing the same music that the people listened to on the way to the club on KTU

just my $.02

BG

[avalondon3]

I think Dj comp would be a better DJ than Draper....

[vodkaredbull]

If it happends I will be sure to be there the First night. I will drink like 15 beers and hold it in and then piss all over the piece. probably get electrocuted but I would gladly take one for the team. sorry if this sounds a little off the wall but I am buxxing hard right now...