[vimeo https://vimeo.com/161289798]

ShredBoard is an instrument that uses the conventional keyboard and mouse as input. The keys z-/, a-’, q-] and 1-= are mapped to the notes of four guitar strings starting at E, A, D, G for each row of keys. The mouse is mapped for use as an effects pedal. There are 2 effects – ChillZoid – a clean, ambient effect and MightySTOMP – a distorted synth effect. Parameters for each effect can be adjusted with 3 knobs to produce a variety of tones.

The software is an AIR application written in ActionScript 3. The sounds are produced in  SuperCollider by sending OSC messages via  flosc. The flosc AS3 classes were modified for certain OSC messages to work correctly with SuperCollider.

The New York Times Newswire API is used to load news for the last 24 hours. The title and URL for the retrieved articles are used to search for tweets with the BackTweets API, a BackType service.

The articles are placed around the center arranged clockwise based on the time they were published. The tweets for each article emanate from the article near the center to the outside. These are based on the time difference between when the article was published and when it was tweeted. The 24 rings indicate the hour difference from 1 near the center to 24 near the outside.

This project was built with ActionScript 3, PHP, MySQL, XML. The data was harvested using the NY Timeswire API and backtweets API.

Data was collected between November 13, 2009 and February 9, 2010 via a cron job set up to pull and store the data locally. The current database is 107 MB, with 15,327 NYTimes articles and 311,885 tweets for those articles.

Source on github.

miBass is a bass guitar-like instrument that can be played on an iphone. Mrmr on the iphone is used to communicate with Max/MSP/Jitter via UDP messages. These messages are interpreted and converted to preset musical notes that are then driven through Native Instruments Guitar Rig, as a VST Instrument, to achieve the bass tone. There are 8 notes in all, 2 groups of 4, which can be switched by rotating the iphone up and down. The visuals are created using Jitter nurbs (jit.gl.nurbs) which get modified based on the levels of the tone produced.

fr3shb0t was created as the final project for the physical computing class. It uses SpeakJet, TTS256 and PIC16F88 microprocessors and an ultrasonic rangefinder. If someone comes close to fr3shb0t, he gets excited and hits on them! He says “Hey, good looking!”

Jnx is an augmented, tactile interface for stress relief, in the form of a plush doll. The core idea of Jnx is based around the concept of squeezing something, much like stress busters, which is emulated by squeezing the dolls throat.

The look and feel of Jnx is inspired by sack puppets and voodoo dolls to add a mystical aura to the interaction. The interface emulates a voodoo doll like behavior by allowing the user to strangle it or twist it arms and legs. The doll responds to the users actions in the form of audio playback.

An Arduino Duemilanove with an ATMega328 microcontroller is used to power the project. A zipper on the front provides easy access to switch the unit on/off, change a 9V battery and adjust the volume on the Adafruit Wave Shield, which is used to playback audio loops.

The audio loops are triggered when force is applied to the flex sensors in the arms and legs, and a force sensitive resistor in the neck.

An Arduino sound project, Diver is an instrument inspired by Analog Sequencers and Theremins. It allows creating a four-note looped melody which can be manipulated in real-time with knobs that can assign upto 5 octaves for each note. Each knob lights up to indicate it’s position in the loop. The top of Diver houses a sensor which can be used to control the tempo of the loop in real-time. Use Diver in live performances or at home to produce awesome loops, melodies and special effects.

Tweetlite is a visual commentary on our relationship with online social networks. It is an ambient light that represents a pixel – the smallest unit of visual digital information. This is represented in the form of a minimalist, 4″ white, plexiglass, cube that reads messages from a Twitter feed and displays them in Morse code. Each message is displayed in a different color and makes for a great mood light. It has USB and power connectivity and comes with a program that is used to enter Twitter credentials to enable the data feed visualization.

It needs to be connected to a computer with an Internet connection, via USB. The patterns and colors can be customized. Needless to say, it can be of great use to someone who can read, interpret or even want to learn Morse code.

It is powered by an Arduino Duemilanove and Python to read tweets from Twitter and send it to the Arduino as serial data. The python code is based on this example.

The objective of the game is to emulate an immersive virtual environment that is geared towards musical skill development and music improvisation. Audio signals from the players’ instruments directly affect the virtual environment and provide immediate visual feedback in the form of game characters.

Children of the Shred is built with Python, PyGame and Max/MSP. Open Sound Control (OSC) is used to communicate between the Python and Max/MSP programs.

In a two player scenario the game can be setup on two networked computers where each player has their own musical instrument. The two computers can be configured to communicate via Open Sound Control.

In collaboration with Clay Ewing.

Design document

Simple particle explosion experiment done in Processing.