Posts Tagged ‘wearable interfaces’
Aural Aura
Aural Aura in Development
Harvestworks July 09
Current developments I am currently in the process of replacing the flex sensors with hand made sensors made from neoprene and velostat. I am also examining the possibility of eliminating body sensors in favor of a more sophisticated motion tracking system with the camera, which allows the precise identification of specific moves. At the same time I am implementing RGB LEDs mapped to the chakra points on the body suit, which are illuminated through the astral body dress at the precise moment when each chakra is triggered.
Aural Aura
Aural Aura is a computer vision and sound installation/performance that visualizes color frequencies and sonifies resonances of key energy points of the body, generated through movement and triggered using sensors. The project aspires to enhance energy management through a mapping of color, sound and movements based on the Shaolin 18 Lohan hands, the fundamental chi Kung exercises used for meditation since 527 BCE in China. Active and/or passive bodily movements trigger specific sound frequencies and colors mapped to the chakras. The goal of Aural Aura is to to unite sound, color and dance in a fluidly attuned communion that transcends the performer, and ideally the audience into a hyper reality that approaches a spiritual experience.
The Structure
The nature of Aural Aura is fivefold involving computer vision, a wearable interface, an astral body projection, musical compositions and sensors.
The Bodysuit
The bodysuit is the controller and generator of sounds and visual effects according to the readings of the attached sensors. A choreography of 8 moves measured by the sensors, determines the triggering of sounds, and images. The sensor bodysuit acts as an instrument capable of playing the 8 tone scale resembling the lydian mode scale, that is, the white keys of the piano. Choosing a wearable interface as an event based generator for mapping gestures was necessary in order to identify and associate chakra to sound and color.
A very special thanks to Andrea Lauer whose contribution made the execution of the design of the body suit into a costume possible.
The Gloves
A pair of gloves use two Flex sensors, one soft potentiometer, one FSR and soft switches, to provide continuous controllers and switches affecting rhythm, pitch, reverb and delay. The gloves went to multiple design variations. In the final design of the glove I used soft switches made of conductive fabric and tightly swed the remaining wire wrap onto the surface of the glove. For an update please check the link Musical Gloves.
The Astral Body
An exoskeleton wearable layer, the astral body dress, physically extends outwards from the central bodysuit, representing the aura and serving as a canvas for projecting images. The astral body dress is used for projection to visualize the aura in three dimensional space rather than on a screen. Visual effects projected on screen merge with the astral body dress color effects to simulate the aura.
Computer Vision
As computer vision tracks movement, the screen/body projection reflects chakra points being triggered by glowing the equivalent colors and/or symbols, while corresponding sounds are generated in realtime.
The Sound
The musical compositions attempt to capture the ethereal aspect prevalent in the visual representation of the aura. The estoreric aspects of music inform the process of sound design as different energy points are mapped to distinct instrumental sounds and musical intervals based on the Pythagorean tuning system. Sounds convolve harmoniously into each other as gestural movements trigger different energy points (chakras). Pure oscillators are synthesized into alpha and delta vibrations, intervals and resonances that accompany the choreography of movements. The low vibrational frequencies used help induce meditative states. Sound does not accompany the dance but is instead created by the dancer.
The Mapping
Aural Aura relies on a mapping between energy point (chakra), color, sound frequency and movement, to produce a synesthetic experience that physically manifests the invisible and inaudible nature of the aura. The mapping of color to sound is based on “Rainbow Resonance”, a project I developed in Spring 2008, which assigns sound frequencies to colors in an intelligible manner by transposing light wavelengths 40 octaves below their spectrum to match the audible spectrum of the electromagnetic field. Aural Aura adds the element of movement to achieve an immersive synaesthetic experience.
The Moves
When the 8 shaolin moves are performed the chakra centers are activated allowing for a connectedness between body, mind and spirit, that enables a “balancing” of the energies to occur.
Why a Performance?
Performance art is an unprecedented expressive experience. Inherent in its nature is the capacity to involve the audience so that they in turn may become a part of the performance. Interactive art is a performative art that invites the audience to not only participate but in essence create the art. In this performance the dancer is not merely interpreting an aural event, but “invents” the soundscape through the dance. Through a tight mapping between color, sound and movement that allows a connectedness between body, mind and spirit, Aural Aura seeks to transcend the performer, and ultimately the audience into a “healing” experience.
Healing
The healing element of Aural Aura is implicit. The performance seeks a balancing of the energies of the body, through an alignment of the chakras using sound vibrations in conjunction with the corresponding colors, as chi kung movements activate the chakra centers.
The Future
Aural Aura can be expanded to integrate movement in three dimensional space through a mapping of the physical location in which the performance takes place. Sensors that measure parameters such as distance, vibration and force, can be coupled with multiple motion tracking cameras to enrich the performance. Furthermore, a performance could include a group of dancers who in an ideal user scenario compose symphonies through their dance, using a combination of wearable sensors, and tracking movement in 3D space through computer vision and sensors placed on location.
Inspiration
Aural Aura is a natural development of my previous project Rainbow Resonance which acted as a computer vision musical instrument. In this project the idea of producing sound through dance is further explored as the performer generates sound intervals through a mapping of her movements. The content of this project sprang from the desire to visualize the aura that extends from the physical human body, and to sonify the associated colors, using a mapping based on mathematics.
Symbolisms in Aural Aura
- Star tetrahedron
The metaphysical nature of numbers as they interact to construct the shapes of the five pointed and six pointed star is an underlying theme conveyed through all aspects of this project. Attuned to the immaterial reality of sound and color, Aural Aura attempts to physically manifest the immaterial dimensions of being. 
Wearable Design
In designing the form of the astral body dress I was inspired by Issey Miyake’s designs extending from the body in unique flower forms, and also Philips Design Probe Skin Dresses. My intention was to illuminate the astral body dress “from within” so that I would achieve a “glowing effect” in the areas of the chakras. Miyake’s illuminated dresses and Hussein Chalayan’s video dresses served as an inspiration. Laurie Anderson, Pamela Z, Letitia Sonami, Luibo Borissov inspired me with the use of a wearable interface and sensors to produce sound and images. Arleen Schloss’s fibre optic dress by Maurice Daniel designed in the mid 80s was also one of my influences.
Arleen Schloss performing in a fibre optic dress by Maurice Daniel 
http://www.sofiart.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Asdressw.mov
Probe Skin Dress by Philips Design
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRX-3DDBow0
Issey Miyake
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDVhDddnta4]
Liubo Borissov – Autopoiesis
http://2rem.net/projects/reel/
Laurie Anderson – Zero and One
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3l9wwp_srg&feature=related http://www.laurieanderson.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR969oeASVI http://www.pamelaz.com/
Toni Dove
http://www.troikaranch.org/vid-loopDiver.html
http://www.sonami.net/ http://www.sonami.net/lady_glove2.htm
The OpenEnded Group - Paul Kaiser
http://www.openendedgroup.com/index.php/artworks/a-to-b/
Dance
The Taiwanese dance group Cloudgate who use tai chi in their performance Moonwater was one of the most important inspirations that drove me to implement Chi Kung as a dance in Aural Aura. A beautiful solo performance by Yang LiPing entitled Moon that uses Kung Fu moves in the dance was another of my inspirations in designing Aural Aura.
Cloud Gate – Moonwater
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmzMCetOM6w
Moon – Solo Dance by Yang LiPing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkLrFpo0lHA&feature=related
Thanks To
Brian Gruber
Musical Gloves
Musical Glove Evolution
I recently developed a software instrument in Max for Live (M4L) that enabled me to perform with the musical glove. The sounds are based on a custom pythagorean tuning. At the moment the instrument uses three continuous controllers and two digital switches. It is challenging to establish a steady stream of sensor data, so I programmed the flakiness of the glove into controllers that didn’t mind some randomness. The result is quite interesting as long as this doesn’t happen with the wrong parameter. The next step is to integrate interactive visuals with the musical glove.
The latest version of the Musical Glove uses continuous controllers and switches affecting parameters such as rhythm, pitch, and delay. The gloves went through multiple design variations. In the current design I am using soft switches made of conductive fabric and tightly sewed the remaining wire wrap onto the surface of the glove. Other newer variations of the glove using different conductive fabrics have failed to perform better than the original. As I found out some conductive fabrics, especially stretch fabrics loose their conductivity with heat causing breaks in the lines. A new iteration of the glove is currently in development. The musical gloves were shown at a performance with the band Machine 475 at the Gulu-Gulu Cafe, in Salem, MA, March 26th.
Musical Glove Prototype
Click to watch
Prototype
