I don't know when karaoke bars became the most popular place to have another party immediately after the main one, but anyway, the latest device is a networked karaoke machine. You input the number of your favorite song, transmit it to the host machine, wait for a few seconds, and then the intro bars of your song come blaring out. It's true convenience!
Following the networked karaoke machine for commercial use, PC-based "Internet karaoke" has appeared. The PC software in turn has evolved into a commercial karaoke service delivered through the Internet. If we stop to think about karaoke alone, we can see the extensive possibilities of the net.
Because I can't keep up with the succession of new song releases, I have to go for the oldies. If you want to sing a certain song but can't remember its title or the singer, just hum the tune to the "humming search system" developed by the RWCP. Even if your friends don't know the song, donšt worry, the computer will find it.
This system searches for raw music signals similar to your humming and finds the song that you want to sing. It can pick up minute characteristics that people cannot detect, and using simple processing can find the right song from the raw data.
Besides the humming search system, computer systems capable of recognizing individual faces, speeches and other human factors will make our life richer, easier and more enjoyable. I'm really looking forward to seeing how computers develop as the possibilities are infinite.