Over at ITP, Xiaoyang Feng created the Irregular Incurve as part of his thesis. As Hack-a-Day describes it:
it’s a midi instrument with an array of 12 strung bows mounted to a curved shower rod. the end of each bow has a tuning key. the strings are each picked using independently mounted arms. one servo controls the downward motion of the pick while the other controls the rotation of the shaft. a damper is also attached to each arm. the string vibrations are transferred to a spruce soundbox under the bridge.
I think that what I like about this piece is that it works from the opposite direction that a lot of work has been going, which is instead of focusing on the interface, and what it is that the audience interacts with, it instead focuses on side of the mechanics of the sound’s creation. And I appreciate that. Great piece!
So this got the attention of our (that being CTP and I) class today. Multitouch, pressure and velocity sensing?! And under $50 to make!!!? W00t! Three or four of us are gearing up to try and make one these, what, Intimate Controller? Multidimentional Force Sensor? I’m not sure what they are being called, but we want to make one this semester.
CDM, I think, says it best: “Who needs a “top 10 technologies of 2008″ post for CDM when this particular instrument could pretty easily top the whole list? Let’s just call it done, and uncork the champagne: major congrats, Randy!”
But here is the kicker: the audio interface that he uses runs at about $1000. That’s a bit steep for most people who are attracted to this project precisely because it is inexpensive. In the comments for the video, Randall hints at both OSC and use of the Arduino in future versions, so it doesn’t sound like it’s out of the realm of possibilities. If true, the latter would really allow this project to get it’s legs, while the former could open up whole new realms of possibilities (video manipulation, use in Supercollider, Chuck or Processing).
I don’t know how old this is, but I just ran across it searching for something completely different (ok, not *completely* different, just not this, per se). Anyways, it’s a write up for doing realtime manipulation of an audio signal with an Arduino. Pretty cool, and considering all of the other things that you can throw into the mix with an Arduino (flex sensors, pressure sensors, distance sensors, the list goes on) this would be great for live performances.
The LED isn’t actually soldered where it passes through the board. The anode and cathode are bent around and soldered to allow the LED a little bit of travel.
Looks really nice. I am going to have to try this on my next project.
CDM has a review of the new MOTU Volta software. This software (currently Mac only) allows users to control their analog synth (with either the MOTU audio interface or the RME Fireface) via their computer and “turns your audio interface into a Control Voltage device.”
…BUG Labs, makers of open source, Linux-based hardware you can snap together like Lego bricks, now has a range of new modules. Most interesting to readers here: there’s an audio module, with input, output, a speaker, and even the possibility of basic onboard DSP. Combined with the other modules – GPS positioning, accelerometer/proximity sensor, physical computing-style inputs and outputs for sensors and robotics and switches and things, a touchscreen, a Linux-powered computer, a camera with stills and video, cell phone SIM – this could lead to some interesting projects. It’s certainly got competition from conventional computers and new Linux-powered devices like the Android platform, but then, that just makes for a healthier range of choices for designing your own mashed-up, hacked-up hardware of the future.
Seems exciting to me. What I think will be most exciting is seeing what people will do with this and other open source hardware platforms such as the Arduino and the BeagleBoard
Hackzine has an interesting post about using an Arduino board to control a Sony camcorder:
If you’re an Arduino fan, you can easily create your own custom devices that can interact with your camcorder using the LANC protocol, allowing you to control zoom and record functions from your own programs. Goose wrote about his own project and example Arduino source:
I found source code to do LANC control with the Arduino board. It was written quite well – it worked the first time out. I made a few changes though, specifically changing it from being controlled by a serial port to being controlled by a potentiometer. I plan to build my own zoom controller with it, using an Arduino Mini.
Jon Sarriugarte and Krysten Mate have posted an Instructable detailing the building process for their Snail Art Car. Good info here for, for “building any kind of art car… I hope by posting this you gather your own team (most of mine had no experience) and make your own dream car together.”
Friend of KineticWorld, Bre Pettis, gave a talk recently at 25C3, the annual Chaos Computer Congress in Berlin on rapid prototyping. BoingBoing has a nice write up here, and Bre has his own post about it here.
Vague Terrain recently posted their newest journal, this time focusing on “Device Art” and “the long lineage of machine making in arts and industry and [collecting] a survey of contemporary work to represent this emerging microcontroller-driven age.”
This abundance feeds an underground culture of hackers and ‘circuit benders’ in much the same way that the post World War II glut of cars fuelled the hot rod craze of the 50s and 60s … The rise of rapid protoyping and small-run custom manufacturing means that an artist can essentially have a factory in their living room, and produce electronic devices as easily as previous generations made prints or ceramics.
Applied Kinetic Arts (A.K.A.) is a community of artists working within the medium loosely defined as “kinetic”. Works incorporating motion, light, sound, and interactivity are represented by the group’s ever expanding member base. A.K.A. was founded in 2007 by artists Christopher T. Palmer and Nemo Gould with the intention of raising public awareness of this art form and providing a support network for its members, and others working within the genre.
On this website you will find RSS streams from some of our members own blogs which will provide a peek into the studios and processes behind this unique approach to art making. Check the members section to learn about our contributors, see examples of their finished work, and find links to their personal sites.
Please feel free to post your comments and help spread the word about us. It is your interest and support that make it possible for artists like us to find an audience and shape the future of contemporary art.
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