Tangible Signals

The research project “Tangible Signals” investigates the physical representation and haptic feedback control of computer sound data.

The creation and manipulation of sounds is fascinating and challenging. The availability and ease of use of microcontrollers, sensors and easily accessible programming environments supported the transition from Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) to Tangible User Interfaces (TUI). But while many NIMEs and TUIs concentrate on enabling the creation and control of digital data, especially the control of musical parameters through the availability of tangible interaction, yet there are only a few interfaces and devices which are able to dynamically represent data in a physical way and at the same time offer the possibility to control or change this data representation and thus the data itself.

The physical representation and modification of digital sound data including haptic feedback is the core of this research work Tangible Signals. The audience is at first visually impaired musicians who are limited in their work with GUIs, but also sighted musicians who want to integrate a physical level into their creative process. In addition, this research may also be of interest to other disciplines that benefit from physical representation and modification of data.

Research Questions:

• How can the physical representation of sound and haptic feedback control contribute to the process of sound generation, sound processing and artistic performance?
• How does the physical representation of sound and its haptic control feedback open up new inspiration and creativity in artistic-musical expression?
• How does the interaction with the physical representation of sound and its haptic control feedback compare to GUI-based workflows?