We’ve started coming in on the last half for IDS, and have been asked to start developing our ideas for final projects. While we have been studying Max MSP as our interface, we are not required to use it. However, I’ve been having a great time with it so far and I think it could be of great use for my particular interface.
For Intro to Physical Computation, I’ve been developing an idea for a physical prototype. It is a cuff that fits around any standard sized microphone that would also have input buttons on it. These buttons would be used as user input, so that a performer would not only be able to communicate with the microphone but also interact with software while performing.
I’ve had a decent amount of discussion with Benedetta and my classmates about more specifically identifying an end user, and hence activity. My claims of, “Anyone using a hand held microphone with a computer!” didn’t seem to make the cut. As I had originally conceived of this as a musical performance device before expanding my horizons, I decided it was best to bring back the concept to it’s original roots and stick with that for now.
However, for IDS, I would still like to explore the idea of giving users greater control over how their software and hardware works. Trying to balance customization, ease of use, and meaningful options for interaction seems like a healthy but worthwhile challenge.
For Physical Computing, I will try to focus on one use case for that project. But for IDS, I would like to iterate on the functionality and create multiple use cases for my physical prototype. In order to avoid casting too wide of a net, I will start by focusing on musical applications. The end goal would be to create multiple modes of interaction that are easily changed from mode to mode, customizable, and have all of this interaction clearly understood and easily used by a non-technical end user.
I will need to clear my idea with both professors in order to properly section this project into pieces that satisfy the requirements for both classes. It would also be good to clarify with Luke the specifics for IDS: How many different modes would be appropriate for this objective? How far down the “non-technical end user” rabbit hole should I go? Which existing software interfaces should I be aware of when trying to implement this idea?
Looking forward to seeing this idea come to fruition.