I spotted this on my Twitter feed the other day and was so impressed I contacted Leonardo Cianetti (the project manager) and asked him for more info.
While the ukulele looks like a rocket design from early science fiction movies,the ukulele is actually designed to simulate the Hawaiian flower Aster Domusus. This ukulele not only folds up for easy travel,the "petals"(or fins,if you prefer) on either side retract and open,much like a flower blooming. See the video clip below to fully appreciate the ingenuity of this tiny but mighty uke.
https://youtu.be/Eru78MXm00U
There's an acoustic version,and two different electric versions to this uke. The top of the line model,the Astro E Pro,has the feature of a bluetooth interface,combined with an app for Android and IOS that wll transform your smartphone into a recording studio. This also enables the player to amplify their sound and use many different effects and settings.
The Astro E model has an internal amplifier that you put your earbuds directly into the instrument. You can also hook up to an amplifier.
For those of you wondering what it sounds like,there's another video clip for the electric version below:
https://youtu.be/EWUaUnEMrSo
What would be awesome is to hear songs being played on it to get an idea of the sound quality when strumming chords,for example. Hopefully the company (or owners of the instrument) will be putting one on social media soon.
For more information,visit their website at
http:// www.astroukulele.com