Scientists invent air guitar t-shirt

Australian scientific researchers have invented a shirt that can sense and process arm movements and turn them into guitar music - answering the prayers of air guitarists everywhere.

The shirt - created by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation, headed by Doctor Richard Helmer - sends information picked up by conductive fibres from sensors in the elbow to wireless transmitters, triggering software to play the appropriate music. Windmills, strumming and other movements are all possible, as this video of the t-shirt demonstrates.

Dr Helmer told The Sun newspaper: "One arm is interpreted as picking chords while the other strums. The wearable instrument is adaptable to both right- and left-handed would-be rock stars,” and added that sensors could be used in the future to reproduce a person in the virtual world so athletes could get feedback on their actions and improve their sporting techniques.

Forget finding a cure for cancer - bring on the pants that make us sound like Eddie Van Halen!