The RADIUS Project
(Real-time Audio Drawing Interface Using Synthesizers)
(Real-time Audio Drawing Interface Using Synthesizers)
The RADIUS Project is an exploration of audio visualization in real-time through user interaction. With the help of a MIDI keyboard and projector the user can create both sound and visuals to shape the space around him. The environment becomes the instrument constantly changing in time to the notes played.
The installation consists of a console which supports a MIDI keyboard and houses a computer hidden inside. As the keys are played data is sent to the computer which processes it into animated visuals through the program Pure Data. These visuals are then displayed from a projector hanging above the console pointing down onto the user in a circular spread.
Three sets of animations allow the user variation as he can switch them on and off using the three most bottom white keys of the keyboard:
- Shape -
The keyboard triggers the points of a 25 sided polygon to spread out in a line from a central axis. With each hit the points extend until a certain amount of steps has been reached at which point they retract towards the center and spread out again.
- Starburst -
Each key is assigned to an elongated diamond shape centered on the central axis. When a key is pressed the shape appears and rotates clockwise, the speed of its rotation is determined by the velocity of the note (the harder you press the faster it goes). Each key's shape is also assigned a saturation with higher notes being lighter and more desaturated than the lower. The color of these shapes also cycles through the RGB spectrum with each hit.
- Stack -
When a key is pressed a colored rectangle is generated in the center and upon release sent outwards towards a set distance. Each key pressed generates its own colored rectangle and with every hit the direction of the shape's path is rotated slightly creating a ring. When this ring is completed a new ring is begun closer towards the center creating a multicolored bulls eye effect.
The installation consists of a console which supports a MIDI keyboard and houses a computer hidden inside. As the keys are played data is sent to the computer which processes it into animated visuals through the program Pure Data. These visuals are then displayed from a projector hanging above the console pointing down onto the user in a circular spread.
Three sets of animations allow the user variation as he can switch them on and off using the three most bottom white keys of the keyboard:
- Shape -
The keyboard triggers the points of a 25 sided polygon to spread out in a line from a central axis. With each hit the points extend until a certain amount of steps has been reached at which point they retract towards the center and spread out again.
- Starburst -
Each key is assigned to an elongated diamond shape centered on the central axis. When a key is pressed the shape appears and rotates clockwise, the speed of its rotation is determined by the velocity of the note (the harder you press the faster it goes). Each key's shape is also assigned a saturation with higher notes being lighter and more desaturated than the lower. The color of these shapes also cycles through the RGB spectrum with each hit.
- Stack -
When a key is pressed a colored rectangle is generated in the center and upon release sent outwards towards a set distance. Each key pressed generates its own colored rectangle and with every hit the direction of the shape's path is rotated slightly creating a ring. When this ring is completed a new ring is begun closer towards the center creating a multicolored bulls eye effect.
