VORTEX
Tangible Ceramic Music Interface
2021.10--2022.8
Project Members
Yun Wang
Yuqing Liang
Hongbo Lan
Zhaorui Liu
MY ROLE
Sound Interactive Designer
TOOLS
Arduino
Capacitive Sensor Modules
Reaper
LoopMIDI
The Hairless MIDI to Serial Bridge
SURPPOTED BY
VORTEX is a tangible music interface, mainly composed of a series of ceramic modules, capacitive touch sensors, temperature sensors, a baseboard, a main control board, a headphone and a supporting structure. It is designed to interact with a wellknown musical composition played by Chinese Guzheng, a 21 or 25- stringed plucked instrument that generates rhythm with rich granular sensation. VORTEX involves multiple senses such as hearing, touch, and proprioception. It invites users to experience multimodal perception and synchronization with the music.
Users interact with VORTEX though an annular ceramic bands that function both as a materialized progress bar and a carrier of various tactile information. The ceramic band is assembled by modular components and corresponds to an individual audio track. Each ceramic modular links with a single note, implementing couplings between tactile signals (size, surface texture, position change and temperature) and music elements (note, chord fingering, musical scale and intensity) to provide users a tangible experience while listening to music.
The combination of tactile information adds a new sensory track to the music, enriching the auditory experience. It materializes the subtle changes of musical elements as well as the finger movements of the musician. Multiple sensory channels, as well as the whole upper body of users are motivated to participate in the exploration of sound and texture.
To trigger the interaction, users need to keep physical contact with the ceramic bands. As the finger tips are highly sensitive to textile and temperature, it is best suited to be engaged in this process. While touching the band, users will hear the corresponding music playing from the headphone. If they move their arms and hands too quickly, too slow or too discontinuously, they will immediately get the audio feedback so that they can choose to slightly adjust their movement to match the correct flow of the music.
Award