Cost: $1,500Time: 10 days
Laser The beam reflects off a fast-moving motorized mirror, fooling the eye into seeing 10 lasers instead of one.
Sound Hobley moves his hands up and down the ends of the beams to affect the sound. A Nintendo Wiimote on the sensor tracks his hand movements, and the data is sent via Bluetooth to the computer to create effects like swooshes and pitch bends.
Gameplay Hobley wrote a script that maps signals from the harp into keystrokes for a PC version of Guitar Hero called Frets on Fire.
The H2Whoa Credo: DIY can be dangerous.
We review all our projects before publishing them, but ultimately your safety is your responsibility. Always wear protective gear, take proper safety precautions, and follow all laws and regulations.
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
Share links with friends, comment on stories and more
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
Check out the best of what's new here.





I'm surprised this became news because the laser harp was already invented in 1980. Jean Michel Jarre used it in almost every of his concerts : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_harp
That is way cool and I can see how it would lead to some pretty neat stuff but atm its kinda boring :)
Moshable Music
Why not orbit magnetic wands that suck the debris out of orbit? Using large orbiting magnets makes more sense, and would cost far less!
hey thats pretty cool
from Freedom, Indiana
it looks more like laser drums the way he's playing it.
hammer-ons? hammer offs? nerd power?
from Lewisville, Texas
This guy really sucks at that game, I used to have a friend that was really into this game. I would go over and we would play 2 player, he used the guitar and I always got stuck with just the controller. I got pretty good at it though and was able to play this song, Freebird, on hard mode for perfect just once. Always better than that though, but I see where this would be a big seller for that crowd. Hell my friend would buy it, maybe I would get some guitar time... Not really, just not my thing really anymore. Is cool idea, would not call it the harp though, that will discourage his target crowd. Needs a cooler name.
Wow,Very cool. But I would like to know how you would sync the laser harp, so you can play the notes. This is so cool though!
@sleidia
I have awesome HD concert video of Jean Michel Jarre in Morocco using his laser "harp" over the audience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJn_6akNLqc
Test-tube babies, I got rabies
My mother gave birth in a diesel haze