From Music to Military: A sneak peek at Myo’s app aspirations

Back in July, Thalmic Labs launched its program to start working with developers on creating the next generation of applications in human-computer interaction. So far, more than 5,000 developers have applied for the Myo developer program. We checked in with Thalmic to see what types of apps are under development for the gesture-control armband as they prepare for their consumer release early next year. While they couldn’t share screenshots of the apps as they’re still under development, the company gave us a brief insight into what’s coming down the pipe.

AeroMidi from Acoustica is building an app that lets you use the Myo to create music. Aimed at music professionals and hobbyists alike, the app will use the Myo to send MIDI commands to music software, virtual synthesizers, drum machines and the like. In this way, musicians will be able to control any characteristic of their sound with their hands – pretty much the epitome of air band.

“AeroMIDI represents a new and exciting way to control music and sound. Instead of being tied to a conventional keyboard or MIDI controller, AeroMIDI allows for the creation and shaping of music in 3D space with just your hands,” Joseph Clarke, CEO & Founder at Acoustica told MobileSyrup.

From creating the soundtrack of our lives to saving lives, Seth Swanson of Digital Iris LLC is working on an app that will be used by military, firefighters and police. The app, called ACT (Augmented Communication Technology), would let users communicate silently without direct line of sight. Swanson’s desire to build such an app is a personal one. He has family members in the military, and believes that this technology could help keep them safe in the field.

Thalmic says that, so far, developers have been coming up with different ideas to push the limits of what they initially planned Myo to do. Many devs are focusing on using both gesture and motion controls at the same time; for example, making a fist to take control of volume, and rolling the arm to the right and left to adjust the volume.

Developer support and app creation is serious business for Thalmic. “Third-party developers mean everything to us, full stop,” said Scott Greenberg, Director of Developer Relations at Thalmic Labs. “We are betting on developers’ success in creating amazing applications for the Myo device, and we’re going to have great programs in the future to support them as much as possible.”