GMU:Autonomous-Collaborative/Ludwig

Concept

Fiddleing Surface

The in 2016 upcoming Fidget Cube is a device that supports different tangible areas.The idea of adding an additional audible level led me to a design that I call "Fiddleing Surface". It consists of different tactile media which are connected by a wooden frame. The pickup is fixed to the wooden frame and connected to a Raspberry hidden by the construction. A special PD-Patch is

Methods

For the audio processing I combined different effects and filters. I used

1. reverb (echo)
2. pitch

Implementation in Pure Data

My sketch consists out of a main sketch that is directing several subpatches. Therefore new effects can be easily added to the program.

Discussion

I wanted to build a device that uses the piezo microphone and a raspberry to create relaxing mood with sounds and tactile media. The result is a first feasible approach. In my opinion listening to the device is surprisingly immersive. But that's a purely subjective assessment. For further improvement, it would be necessary to develop a user study that verifies the benefits.

1. The device is too big and difficult to transport. The sound processing should be optimized to a system on a chip, do that the whole processing could fit in a regular fidget cube.
2. The audio processing doesn't show the potential yet. There a still too many random values. Instead of randomness I would like to use more input signals from the user. I think it would be cool to add harmonics dependend on the orientation of the device, which can be measured by a gyroscope.