Month: June 2022

 

DIMENSIONS

150cm x 30cm

 

LIST OF MATERIALS

Woojer speakers, ostrich feathers, wooden frame, audio mapping software, amplifier, USB sound cards.

 

HOW IS THE PROTOTYPE MADE?

Multiple feathers, either in an array or in a frame, are attached to Woojer transducers with a piece of copper wire and move when the transducer moves. Software written in Max/MSP calculates the activity in different frequency bands of a sound, and maps this to the available amount of feathers-on-a-woojer. These then vibrate with a frequency between 5 and 20 Hertz, depending on the volume of the incoming band as well as the current settings for that band. 

We believe not only translation in the “material sense” is important, but in the “software sense” of translation as well. Using software, anything can be made a control signal for anything else, on any timescale needed – this is an area we’d like to explore in more depth in the future.

 

HOW IS THIS PROTOTYPED USED

The research behind this prototype started with the intention to locate areas of translating sound that the rest of the WDIH? team were not engaging with. This led to the feathers prototype that translates high frequencies to movement. We tested the behavior of various materials (such as mylar blanket, paper, textile bits, and synthetic threads) under the influence of controlled airflow. During our research we found that the way feathers move, due to their “fractal” structure, feels quite “natural”. We switched from controlled airflow to the physical movement of the woojer speaker coil as a method of engaging the feathers. However, the movement of feathers is still partly defined by their ability to ‘behave’ in a certain way within the air environment.

The feathers prototype can be placed in the line of sight of a person who is simultaneously having a tactile experience of sound through other prototypes. The aim is to enable a more diverse multi-sensory experience within the imagined (architectural) setup, and to focus on very particular aspects of sound, such as a translation of the brightness of sound to movement.

Apart from being experienced visually, the gentle movement of feathers can also be experienced with fingers and palms, triggering tiny hairs on our skin and producing a ticklish sensation.

DIMENSIONS

64 x 110 x 10cm 

 

MATERIALS

Cotton, wool felt, wooden beams, metal pipes, 4 Woojer speakers, 2 Dayton base shakers, buckwheat, electronics.

 

HOW IS THE PROTOTYPE MADE?)

The panel consists of three parts: a frame, vibrating conductive pipes and the pillowy membrane surface. The frame is rectangular and made of wood. Lengthwise inside the frame are three metal pipes, each connected to the frame with springs on the ends. The metal pipes are hollow and have transducer speakers on each side, sending vibrations through them. The pipes on the sides are similar, while the one in the middle is slightly bigger and uses a different and stronger speaker (bass shaker). Clad onto the pipes is a series of cylindrical pillows, which form the user interface. The pillowy surface is made of two layers of fabric: a thick cotton canvas that is stretched and tacked around the frame and a much bigger piece of wool felt that is sewn directly onto the canvas with horizontal stitches at regular intervals. The excess fabric between the stitches is filled with buckwheat to form a series of short, wide pillows that cover the entire frame.

HOW IS THE PROTOTYPE USED?  

The prototype has six separate audio/vibration channels that are usually paired into three; left, right and centre. When translating stereo audio, the left and right pipes get fed the left and right audio signals, and the centre pipe acts as the subwoofer, receiving the sum of the two sides heavily filtered to only contain vibrations below 200hz. When a person leans against the soft surface the pressure of their body weight pushes the pillows against the pipes. As a result, the pillows conduct vibrations to the area that is being compressed by the body. All pipes touch all of the pillows, spreading and blending the vibrations into a single complex signal. 

The panel is always mounted at a slight angle, in order to facilitate a person in leaning against the interface with their entire bodyweight. When mounted for standing, the panel has a series of springs attached so that it gives a little as one leans into it, allowing the user to find a position that is comfortable for them. 

This prototype can be used for direct sensory translation of any audio piece (e.g., music, field recordings, voice). It can also be paired with other vibrotactile interfaces, each receiving only part of a signal, for example only translating the voice of a movie through the panel, allowing one to better separate the different layers of sound.

 

DIMENSIONS

4 elastic bands 91cm long, each band holding 3 speakers, wooden frame 91 x 210cm

MATERIALS

12 Dayton base shakers, wooden frame, elastic bands, joystick or drawing pad, laptop running Linux OS, electronics

 

HOW IS THE PROTOTYPE MADE? 

A tactile wall panel that can be easily moved or reconfigured. It uses 12 transducers and 12 audio channels. It is controlled using a drawing pad and a Linux computer running a Pure Data patch. It is currently configured as a 3 x 4 transducer grid, but different shapes or configurations could be created.

 

HOW IS THE PROTOTYPE USED?

The tactile wall activates a surface that the body can lean against, as against a wall. A participant can use a joystick or a drawing tablet to “draw” a vibration pattern in the wall. The pattern can be saved and replayed. The patch allows a user to either play a sound file through the wall or play tones through the wall. The tactile wall is meant to feel comfortable for people, and is adjustable to different heights of users. Future plans for this prototype include the possible incorporation of a movement recognition system that could track the movement of performance artists or dancers and translate them into a sound and/or vibrotactile experience on the wall.