Leading drum research initiative The Clem Burke Drumming Project has announced a collaborate research project with Activision’s Guitar Hero World Tour that will examine the benefits of using the game’s drum kit controller.

The project is an unique collaboration between Blondie drummer Clem Burke, Dr. Marcus Smith and Dr. Steve Draper from the University of Chichester and Gloucestershire, respectively. Their aim is to gather information of various art forms of drumming through the application of scientific principles. Here’s where Guitar Hero comes in:

With two raised pads that represent the hi-hat and either the crash or ride cymbals, three pads which correspond to the snare and two toms and a bass-drum kick pedal, the Guitar Hero World Tour drum controller simulates an authentic drum kit.

When playing on the drum kit controller in the game on higher difficultly levels, the Clem Burke Drumming Project believes Guitar Hero World Tour will provide an opportunity to acquire the specific motor skills needed for drumming. The Clem Burke Drumming Project will investigate the transfer of skills and the physiological demands of game play compared to live drumming.

The Clem Burke Drumming Project recently launched its first wave of findings, revealing that gigging professional drummers had a heart rate profile similar to professional football players and expended a significant amount of energy (400-600 kcal per performance). Physiological tests included the measurement of heart rate, oxygen uptake and blood lactate in rehearsal tests and monitoring heart rate and blood lactate during live stage performances.

The Clem Burke Drumming Project team will conduct a series of physiological and neurological tests using the Guitar Hero World Tour drum kit controller, which will be permanently housed in the University of Gloucestershire’s newly-built dedicated drumming laboratory and at the University of Chichester.

The research will also examine the neurological changes in the game, seeing how the brain’s grey and white matters evolve during gameplay. It will also investigate the health benefits of playing the game.

Guitar Hero World Tour is now available on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

Following up on the trailer, Activision has released the first screenshots from Guitar Hero World Tour. A picture of the drum kit can be seen in this post. The game is due out this Fall on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

Activision today confirmed that the Wii version of Guitar Hero World Tour will support some form of downloadable content, though no details were provided. It is not known if the content refers to new songs or the sharing of user-created tracks.

Downloadable content on the Wii is a concern for developers due to the console’s paltry 512MB of internal storage. Users can expand that space through the use of SD cards, however, the Wii will only executive downloaded content if it is located within the internal memory.

In related news, a picture of the drum kit that will come with the game has been released. Enjoy.

Following up on revealing the game title to be Guitar Hero World Tour, Activision issued a trailer for the upcoming multi-instrument rocker in development at Neversoft. The game is due out this Fall on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.

The next entry in the Guitar Hero series won’t be called Guitar Hero IV, but Guitar Hero World Tour, publisher Activision has announced. Set to arrive on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii this Fall, no further information was provided for the title.

The company, however, recently revealed the five-pad drum kit that it claims are “the most realistic drums”. The game will also reportedly let users record, create music and share it with the rest of the world. Four bands have already been confirmed to be in the game - Van Halen, The Eagles, Linkin Park and Sublime.