I'm updating my resources about interactive music on the web, and thought I'd devote a post or two to the subject from time-to-time.Many of the links I've collected over the years no longer exist, so I thought I'd start from the beginning of my quest:
In 1998?, I was taking a kickboxing class and couldn't stand the electronic dance music that blasted us through our moves. I knew there had to be something better, but I wasn't sure exactly how to find it.
As working mom, living in suburbia, I wasn't living a lifestyle that was suited to clubbing until dawn. I knew about Air, Boards of Canada, Moby, and older groups such as Tangerine Dream, but that was about it. What to do? I searched the Web, and stumbled upon Ishtur's Guide to Electronic Music.
I was overwhelmed at the complexity reflected in the guide. Ishkur provides a sample of the roots of today's electronic music, with examples of Musique Concrete and the avant-garde music of the 50's.Some of the music is...awful, but if you search around, you might find some gems.
If you visit Ishtur's Guide, visit the tutorial first.
Be forewarned that this guide is NOT scholarly. Ishkur has strong opinions, and uses strong language that corresponds to his views... often tongue-in-cheek.
(To put Ishkur's Guide in perspective, read "The Truth Behind Ishkur's Guide :"For those who like epic/anthem and uplifting trance, don’t be misled by what Ishkur has to say. Again, he states his own bias– his word is not fact. Don’t be afraid to form your own opinion on things, based on what you observe.")
Below are a couple screenshots from his guide:
House Downtempo If you click a node, it will play an example of the music, and the description of the sub-genre displays in the text box, along with a few other examples, in a row of numbers at the bottom of the text box:
Ishtur's Guide to Electronic Music will keep you entertained and amused for hours, if you have them to spare. Even if you don't like electronic music!
A reader brought to my attention the work of EyeClick, an interactive multimedia advertising company that has been around for a few years. They create interactive floors, and use "intuitive body motion with floors and surface areas". -EyeClick
I've included several videos below, but for more information and related details, check out EyeClick's product page, which has a nice showreel, and information about the benefits of interactive marketing.
EyeClick appears to be similar to lm3labs, a company I've posted about previously.
I really like Tabula Digita's immersive 3D games for math, especially DimensionM for algebra. I recently learned that this company was the focus of an article in Forbes magazine. You can read the article online:
I first came across the people behind Tabula Digita at the 2005 Serious Games Summit, and I was impressed. Students really learn a great deal about math by playing these games, and it is more exciting than completing worksheets.
Here is a link to a TV news clip about middle school students in North Carolina who are participating in a research study under the direction of Dr. Albert Ritzhoupt, of UNCW's instructional technology program:
What isCRISTAL ? Control of Remotely Interfaced Systems using Touch-based Actions in Living Spaces and acronym for a project at the Media Interaction Lab at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences, Digital Media.
Watch the videos:
"CRISTAL simplifies the control of our digital devices in and around the living room. The system provides a novel experience for controlling devices in a home environment by enabling users to directly interact with those devices on a live video image of their living room using multi-touch gestures on a digital tabletop." -mediainteractionlab, YouTube
The CRISTAL project is a collaboration between several people, spanning across a few universities, according to the Media Interaction Lab website:
Christian Rendl Media Interaction Lab Florian Perteneder Media Interaction Lab Thomas Seifried Media Interaction Lab Michael Haller Media Interaction Lab Daisuke Sakamoto University of Tokyo Jun Kato University of Tokyo Masahiko Inami Keio University Stacey D. Scott University of Waterloo
CRISTAL received the Best Emerging Technology Award at the 36th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH 2009)
Below is a sample of the Interactive Media Lab's publications:
M. Haller, P. Brandl, C. Richter, T. Seifried, J. Leitner, and A. Gokcezade, 2009. "Interactive Displays and Next-Generation Interfaces." Springer, 2009. [bibtex]
C. Köffel, W. Hochleitner, J. Leitner, M. Haller, A. Geven, and M. Tscheligi, 2009. "Using Heuristics to Evaluate the Overall User Experience of Video Games and Advanced Interaction Games." Springer, 2009. [in press] [bibtex]
M. Haller, C. Forlines, C. Koeffel, J. Leitner, and C. Shen, 2009.
"Tabletop Games: Platforms, Experimental Games and Design Recommendations." Springer, 2009. in press [bibtex]
J. Leitner, M. Haller, K. Yun, W. Woo, M. Sugimoto, M. Inami, A. D. Cheok, and H. D. Been-Lirn, 2009. "Physical Interfaces For Tabletop Games," Computer Entertainment, vol. XX, p. XX, 2009. [bibtex]
One of the people involved in the CRISTAL project is Stacey D. Scott, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of systems design engineering at the University of Waterloo. She is also the director of the Collaborative Systems Laboratory. The Collaborative Systems Laboratory focuses on fundamental interfaces and interaction techniques for shared large-screen displays, such as multi-display environments and social-supporting digital tabletop interfaces, and also collaborative and decision support interfaces for complex, time-critical team environments.
To follow up on my last post about Microsoft and emerging technology, I thought I'd link to an article that will give you an idea of how far (or not) application development for the Microsoft Surface has come in the past two years: Killer Apps for Microsoft Surface: The Complete Guide [updated](Chris Dannen, Fast Company, 8/11/09)
I came across the picture below today, and discovered more about it in a CNET article:
"Gesture-recognition technology, such as that seen in Project Natal, has changed the face of gaming, but Microsoft's Craig Mundie (pictured) believes it will also transform the office." (Ina Fried, CNET)
This approach looks like it incorporates visual thinking and conceptualization in a nice and fluid way.
According to Fried, author of the the linked CNET article, Craig Mundie, at the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit this past July demonstrated the set-up in the above picture. The demonstration "...included hologram-like videoconferencing, a virtual digital assistant, and multiple surface computers, along with voice-, touch- and gesture-recognition technology. The desk in the demo was a multitouch surface computer, and the office's walls were also a display that could easily switch from being a virtual window or collection of digital photos to a corkboard of sticky notes or various workspaces. In one case, Mundie also used Project Natal-like depth cameras to put himself in the middle of an architectural demo, essentially putting himself inside a building that was not yet built."
The author of the above article was also at the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit and touched on the concept of natural user interfaces:
“All the things we talk about as natural user interfaces have been largely used one at a time as enhancements to [graphical user interfaces],” Mundie said. Gesture recognition, expressive responses, immersive 3-D virtual environments, and understanding of context—these advances in computing algorithms will lead to software that is “better at anticipating what you might want.”
When I find a video of the Project Natal/Surface/Natural User Interface Office in action, I'll be sure to post it!
Why this is important:
Natural user interfaces might have the potential to support more efficient and effective collaboration among people in the workplace, and the visual display of information may also support better decision-making and problem solving.
