Communications of the ACM
A Minority Report Interface For the Rest of S
Two programmers have developed Toscanini, a free gestural computer interface that provides a connection between a user's movements and digital instruments such as synthesizers, keyboards, or anything that can be controlled through a MIDI connection. The software, developed during a 24-hour hacking contest, runs on Texas Instruments' Wireless Watch Development Tool, which is equipped with an accelerometer. "Currently it acts like a MIDI keyboard, except you can control the knobs with your movements," says co-creator Lindsey Mysse. "But it doesn't have to make music. It can control a mouse. You just put it on your wrist and make something happen."
View a video demonstration of the gestural interface.
The software is in alpha and uses Max/MSP, a visual programming language, so other programmers can modify it. "Unlike Kinect or Wii, this is intended to be hacked," says co-creator Robby Grodin. "You can record your movements as musical 'macros,' or build your own apps." Mysse says Toscanini will be useful to artists who want to add randomness to their digital works.
From Technology Review
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