Capturing Kinetic Wave Demonstrations for Sound Control

In acoustics education, topics such as wave propagation, reflection and phase, can be hard for students to conceptualize. Wave demonstrations offer visible and tangible representations of acoustic phenomena and facilitate learning. In this project, we explore the fabrication of one such pedagogical device, namely the Shive machine. In our implementation, we not only use modern fabrication techniques to construct a wave demonstration, but also employ motion capture (MoCap) technology to transform this kinetic assembly into an audio controller. Time-varying coordinates of MoCap markers integrated into the Shive machine are mapped to audio parameters, closing an inter-modal loop where visual analogues of acoustic phenomena are in turn used to control digital audio. The project leads to a pedagogical practice where fabrication and sensing technologies are used to reconstitute demonstrations for the eye as controllers for the ear.