Audio Graffiti is a multi-user music installation that explores new modes of sonic interaction, afforded by the latest in locative technologies. Several mobile users may create and explore a gradually evolving collage of audio recordings, “stuck” to real walls in urban environments.
The piece can be deployed in an outdoor environment (using GPS tracking), or in an indoor space as seen in the video below. Equipped with a wireless headset and tracking device, participants can “tag” or “spray” sound onto the wall. We provide several small musical instruments, which can be used along with one’s voice, to add sounds to the collaborative musical mix. The installation is seeded with some pre-existing sonic material, which allows participants to synchronize rhythmically, and maintains cohesion over time. All user-contributed sounds slowly fade away, resulting in an ever-evolving musical piece.
As users moves about, they also experience a changing sonic perspective of the localized sounds, based on their particular location. So users not only create audio content, but they also participate actively in the encounter (remixing) of sonic material. Participants who are waiting their turn in the staging area may watch a real-time 3D visualization of the installation, which shows avatars of each player walking amongst virtual sound sources.
This installation was filmed at the 12th Biennial Arts and Technology Symposium in the lobby of the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology (Connecticut College, March 4-6, 2010).
Breaking the Ice was successfully launched for the Cultural Olympiad of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. The installation combines telepresence with game-like 3D interaction, in order to foster a dialogue between Olympic visitors and the distant city of Montreal. The audiences of both locations are excited to have the ability to ‘break the ice’ with their compatriots, and socialize about the Olympic games.
The project was a collaborative effort of many groups at the Society for Arts and Technology [SAT], including industrial designers, production staff, and the PropulseART research team. At the heart of the technology, lies the SPIN Framework, which maintains the distributed 3D state, and renders the graphical interface. The Scenic software system was used for transmission of audio & video signals between both locations using the high-bandwidth CANARIE network.
I’ve started to work on a project called New Terrain of Apparition (NTA) with Luc Courchesne. The goal is to connect several hemispheric projection environments (called Panoscopes), so that users can meet and interact in a networked virtual environment. Several cameras are used to capture each user from various angles, allowing an accurate image to be displayed for each relative viewing angle in the virtual world. This means that even in an immersive 360 degree display, users can look each other in eyes and have a real time video chat. Audio and video transmission is handled by Scenic, and management of the virtual environment is handled by the SPIN Framework.
Below is a video of the first prototype, which will be exhibited as part of CODE Live 1 at the Vancouver Olympics:
We recently created an installation to demonstrate our component of the PropulseART project at the Society for Arts and Technology. The goal of the project at large is to connect remote concert venues with high quality video and multi-channel audio. Several open source software components have been released, under the name of Telesceno, which manage real time transmission of audiovisual data. Our Clickable Space authoring suite allows for the 3D modelling of performance spaces so that users from multiple locations can share and interact with each others stages.
Below is a proof-of-concept video about how Clickable Space operates:
This Monday, May 11th, I will be presenting a course on “Art, GPS and mobility” as part of the SAT[Transform] educational series. Although the topics may vary according to audience feedback, below is a overview of the topics that may be presented:
> Inspiration for interactive mobile applications:
intro to mixed & augmented reality
examples of locative media projects (past & present)
> Geospatial data:
Existing viewers, rendering engines, and geotagged data
Location-based content delivery and interaction
intro to OpenStreetMap, Google Earth, etc.
> Mapping & GIS:
projections and representations (lat/long - UTM)
geocaching: waypoints/tracks/routes and exchange formats
open source software solutions
> User tracking:
about GPS receivers, technologies, and conversion between formats
robustness with other inputs: accelerometers, compasses, cameras, fiduciary markers, etc
On March 6th 2009, we held a networked event where DJs and VJs in Montreal and Vancouver performed simultaneously. Moreover, audience members in each location were able to contribute material in real time with their cell phones using Raw Materials, a software developed by Mike Wozniewski and Alexandre Quessy at the SAT. Below is a documentary video created by Mo Simpson that describes the event:
Here is a beautiful video made by ItoWorld that shows the progress of the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project during 2008. Those who don’t know OSM, should take notice of the exponential growth of this data source. Contrary to NAVTEQ (which provides geospatial data to almost all online services, including Google Maps, Yahoo, MapQuest, and Microsoft Virtual Earth), the content of OSM is free, open source, and largely user-generated.
I think that in the near future, bottom-up projects like this will replace the top-down commercial data sets, similarly to the way that Wikipedia has replaced online reference material. The paradigm has the advantage of numbers, making it more possible to keep up-to-date with the changing global landscape.
The official call for works is available for the Pure Data Convention 2009. You may recall that the previous Pd Convention took place in Montreal in the summer of 2007, and that I gave a talk, workshop, and performed a piece.
As you might know, my main colleague and research collaborator who works with me in the design of 3D musical interfaces is Zack Settel. In summer of 2008, he produced Blairatta Policeme, a volumetric concert piece for jazz trio, mobile chamner quartet, and audio-enhanced performance space. See his documentation for more about what this means. On that site, you’ll find a live recording by the CBC, as well as an excellent video that explains the main concepts.
Also most recently, Zack appears in a video interview (seulement en français) on the on the Télé-Québec site. In fact, you can also see me in some of the shots, apparently doing “research”.
The call for NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression) has been posted for next year’s conference, which will be held at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. More details at www.nime2009.org. The submission deadline for most items is January 24th, 2009.
