Maniax Memori has designed chessynthesis where the audio output is controlled as the chess game progresses. The final version will use reacTIvision alongside processing. This video shows a visual representation of what to expect, the final release will use a real chess board.
The Computational Design Lab at Carnegie Mellon University has an interesting archive of current and previous projects. One that particularly caught my eye was Bach Blocks. A physical tangible instrument to encourage children to create orginal music. Rhythms and harmonys are created by placing the blocks in different patterns. The colour of the blocks is used to identify the pitch and the size of the block determines the beat length.
ASSIST allows a user to sketch a mechanical system and run the simulation.
Interesting project from Marc Nonnenmacher which uses Daphnia organisms to control the sound output. The organisms are placed in a small Gadgetry with water and viewed under a microscope. LEDs are used to control the movement of the animal, swimming on one side results in the corresponding LED to turn off and an LED on the opposite side of the Gadgety to turn on. The Daphnia are light-sensitive and move towards the source.
A new VST plugin by Niall Moody called Brush Strokes is an audiovisual instrument. It uses two oscillators, their waveforms determined by scanning the x and y-axis positions of the mouse position. Louder sounds are generated by larger gestures and when there is no movement there is no sound. The VST and a processing applet (both with source code) can be found at Niall’s ndcplugs website.
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