Issues and techniques for collaborative music making on multi-touch surfaces

A range of systems exist for collaborative music making on multi-touch surfaces. Some of them have been highly successful, but currently there is no systematic way of designing them, to maximise collaboration for a particular user group. We are particularly interested in systems that will engage novices and experts. We designed a simple application in an initial attempt to clearly analyse some of the issues. Our application allows groups of users to express themselves in collaborative music making using pre-composed materials. User studies were video recorded and analysed using two techniques derived from Grounded Theory and Content Analysis. A questionnaire was also conducted and evaluated. Findings suggest that the application affords engaging interaction. Enhancements for collaborative music making on multi-touch surfaces are discussed. Finally, future work on the prototype is proposed to maximise engagement

Towards an interactive environment for the performance of Dubstep music

This Masters by Research project explores the integration of different concepts relating to the presence of the human body in Dubstep music performance. Three intended performance systems propose that the body is the logical site for the interactive control of live Dubstep music. The physicality and gestures of instrumentalists, choreographed dancers, and audience members will be examined in order to develop new and exciting ways to perform this genre in a live setting. The systems take on a three-tiered hierarchical approach on two levels in regards to the extraction of gestural information from human body movements, as well as in regards to the importance – and length – of musical phenomena and parameters that are under control. The characteristics of Dubstep music are defined and maintained within each interactive music system. A model for this each proposed system will be examined, including discussion of the technology and methodology employed in order to apply the two hierarchies and create the interactive environment

Tabletop Tangible Interfaces for Music Performance: Design and Evaluation

This thesis investigates a new generation of collaborative systems: tabletop tangible interfaces (TTIs) for music performance or musical tabletops. Musical tabletops are designed for professional musical performance, as well as for casual interaction in public settings. These systems support co-located collaboration, offered by a shared interface. However, we still know little about their challenges and opportunities for collaborative musical practice: in particular, how to best support beginners or experts or both. This thesis explores the nature of collaboration on TTIs for music performance between beginners, experts, or both. Empirical work was done in two stages: 1) an exploratory stage; and 2) an experimental stage. In the exploratory stage we studied the Reactable, a commercial musical tabletop designed for beginners and experts. In particular, we explored its use in two environments: a multi-session study with expert musicians in a casual lab setting; and a field study with casual visitors in a science centre. In the experimental stage we conducted a controlled experiment for mixed groups using a bespoke musical tabletop interface, SoundXY4. The design of this study was informed by the previous stage about a need to support better real-time awareness of the group activity (workspace awareness) in early interactions. For the three studies, groups musical improvisation was video-captured unobtrusively with the aim of understanding natural uses during group musical practice. Rich video data was carefully analysed focusing on the nature of social interaction and how workspace awareness was manifested. The findings suggest that musical tabletops can support peer learning during multiple sessions; fluid between-group social interaction in public settings; and a democratic and ecological approach to music performance. The findings also point to how workspace awareness can be enhanced in early interactions with TTIs using auditory feedback with ambisonics spatialisation. The thesis concludes with theoretical, methodological, and practical implications for future research in New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME), tabletop studies, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

Personalized Interaction with High-Resolution Wall Displays

Fallende Hardwarepreise sowie eine zunehmende Offenheit gegenüber neuartigen Interaktionsmodalitäten haben in den vergangen Jahren den Einsatz von wandgroßen interaktiven Displays möglich gemacht, und in der Folge ist ihre Anwendung, unter anderem in den Bereichen Visualisierung, Bildung, und der Unterstützung von Meetings, erfolgreich demonstriert worden. Aufgrund ihrer Größe sind Wanddisplays für die Interaktion mit mehreren Benutzern prädestiniert. Gleichzeitig kann angenommen werden, dass Zugang zu persönlichen Daten und Einstellungen — mithin personalisierte Interaktion — weiterhin essentieller Bestandteil der meisten Anwendungsfälle sein wird. Aktuelle Benutzerschnittstellen im Desktop- und Mobilbereich steuern Zugriffe über ein initiales Login. Die Annahme, dass es nur einen Benutzer pro Bildschirm gibt, zieht sich durch das gesamte System, und ermöglicht unter anderem den Zugriff auf persönliche Daten und Kommunikation sowie persönliche Einstellungen. Gibt es hingegen mehrere Benutzer an einem großen Bildschirm, müssen hierfür Alternativen gefunden werden. Die daraus folgende Forschungsfrage dieser Dissertation lautet: Wie können wir im Kontext von Mehrbenutzerinteraktion mit wandgroßen Displays personalisierte Schnittstellen zur Verfügung stellen? Die Dissertation befasst sich sowohl mit personalisierter Interaktion in der Nähe (mit Touch als Eingabemodalität) als auch in etwas weiterer Entfernung (unter Nutzung zusätzlicher mobiler Geräte). Grundlage für personalisierte Mehrbenutzerinteraktion sind technische Lösungen für die Zuordnung von Benutzern zu einzelnen Interaktionen. Hierzu werden zwei Alternativen untersucht: In der ersten werden Nutzer via Kamera verfolgt, und in der zweiten werden Mobilgeräte anhand von Ultraschallsignalen geortet. Darauf aufbauend werden Interaktionstechniken vorgestellt, die personalisierte Interaktion unterstützen. Diese nutzen zusätzliche Mobilgeräte, die den Zugriff auf persönliche Daten sowie Interaktion in einigem Abstand von der Displaywand ermöglichen. Einen weiteren Teil der Arbeit bildet die Untersuchung der praktischen Auswirkungen der Ausgabe- und Interaktionsmodalitäten für personalisierte Interaktion. Hierzu wird eine qualitative Studie vorgestellt, die Nutzerverhalten anhand des kooperativen Mehrbenutzerspiels Miners analysiert. Der abschließende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit dem Analyseprozess selber: Es wird das Analysetoolkit für Wandinteraktionen GIAnT vorgestellt, das Nutzerbewegungen, Interaktionen, und Blickrichtungen visualisiert und dadurch die Untersuchung der Interaktionen stark vereinfacht.An increasing openness for more diverse interaction modalities as well as falling hardware prices have made very large interactive vertical displays more feasible, and consequently, applications in settings such as visualization, education, and meeting support have been demonstrated successfully. Their size makes wall displays inherently usable for multi-user interaction. At the same time, we can assume that access to personal data and settings, and thus personalized interaction, will still be essential in most use-cases. In most current desktop and mobile user interfaces, access is regulated via an initial login and the complete user interface is then personalized to this user: Access to personal data, configurations and communications all assume a single user per screen. In the case of multiple people using one screen, this is not a feasible solution and we must find alternatives. Therefore, this thesis addresses the research question: How can we provide personalized interfaces in the context of multi-user interaction with wall displays? The scope spans personalized interaction both close to the wall (using touch as input modality) and further away (using mobile devices). Technical solutions that identify users at each interaction can replace logins and enable personalized interaction for multiple users at once. This thesis explores two alternative means of user identification: Tracking using RGB+depth-based cameras and leveraging ultrasound positioning of the users' mobile devices. Building on this, techniques that support personalized interaction using personal mobile devices are proposed. In the first contribution on interaction, HyDAP, we examine pointing from the perspective of moving users, and in the second, SleeD, we propose using an arm-worn device to facilitate access to private data and personalized interface elements. Additionally, the work contributes insights on practical implications of personalized interaction at wall displays: We present a qualitative study that analyses interaction using a multi-user cooperative game as application case, finding awareness and occlusion issues. The final contribution is a corresponding analysis toolkit that visualizes users' movements, touch interactions and gaze points when interacting with wall displays and thus allows fine-grained investigation of the interactions

Musical composing on pitch time table based tangible tabletop interface

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

Advances in Non-Invasive Blood Pressure Monitoring

This paper reviews recent advances in non-invasive blood pressure monitoring and highlights the added value of a novel algorithm-based blood pressure sensor which uses machine-learning techniques to extract blood pressure values from the shape of the pulse waveform. We report results from preliminary studies on a range of patient populations and discuss the accuracy and limitations of this capacitive-based technology and its potential application in hospitals and communities

Practical, appropriate, empirically-validated guidelines for designing educational games

There has recently been a great deal of interest in the potential of computer games to function as innovative educational tools. However, there is very little evidence of games fulfilling that potential. Indeed, the process of merging the disparate goals of education and games design appears problematic, and there are currently no practical guidelines for how to do so in a coherent manner. In this paper, we describe the successful, empirically validated teaching methods developed by behavioural psychologists and point out how they are uniquely suited to take advantage of the benefits that games offer to education. We conclude by proposing some practical steps for designing educational games, based on the techniques of Applied Behaviour Analysis. It is intended that this paper can both focus educational games designers on the features of games that are genuinely useful for education, and also introduce a successful form of teaching that this audience may not yet be familiar with

A study, exploration and development of the interaction of music production techniques in a contemporary desktop setting

As with all computer-based technologies, music production is advancing at a rate comparable to ‘Moore’s law’. Developments within the discipline are gathering momentum exponentially; stretching the boundaries of the field, deepening the levels to which mediation can be applied, concatenating previously discrete hardware technologies into the desktop domain, demanding greater insight from practitioners to master these technologies and even defining new genres of music through the increasing potential for sonic creativity to evolve. This DMus project will draw from the implications of the above developments and study the application of technologies currently available in the desktop environment, from emulations of that which was traditionally hardware to the latest spectrally based audio-manipulation tools. It will investigate the interaction of these technologies, and explore creative possibilities that were unattainable only a few years ago – all as exemplified through the production of two contrasting albums of music. In addition, new software will be developed to actively contribute to the evolution of music production as we know it. The focus will be on extended production technique and innovation, through both development and context. The commentary will frame the practical work. It will offer a research context with a number of foci in preference to literal questions, it will qualify the methodology and then form a literature & practice review. It will then present a series of frameworks that analyse music production contexts and technologies in a historical perspective. By setting such a trajectory, the current state-of-the-art can be best placed, and a number of the progressive production techniques associated with the submitted artefacts can then by contextualised. It will terminate with a discussion of the work that moves from the specific to the general

Proceedings of the 7th Sound and Music Computing Conference

Proceedings of the SMC2010 - 7th Sound and Music Computing Conference, July 21st - July 24th 2010