The UFO controller: Gestural music performance

This thesis introduces The UFO Controller, a free-space gestural controller for performing electronic music. It documents the design process and the main features of the UFO, analyses my experiences of performing with the controller and compares the UFO to other known free-space control instruments. The thesis also examines the domain of electronic music, critically analyzes the live performances in that field and investigates the importance of body gestures for the performances. The UFO is a MIDI controller that uses ultrasonic rangefinder sensors for detecting the hand gestures of a performer. It is a non-tactile controller that is played without physically touching the device. The sensors measure the distance of the performer's hands moving on top of the device and convert that into control data, which can be mapped to any music software or synthesizer. The use of body gestures, which is commonly reported lacking from the live performances of electronic music, is crucially important for engaging live music performances. The laptop computer has become the de-facto instrument of the concert stages where electronic music is performed. The UFO can help the electronic music performances to become more interesting by moving them towards a more gestural direction. This thesis aims to validate the following claims. Firstly, a novelty free-space controller makes electronic music performances more compelling both for the audience and the performer. Secondly, the use of body gestures is important for the largely disembodied electronic music performances. The UFO has been seen and heard on concert stages all around the world with my band Phantom. The audiences have been excited and thrilled about it and the UFO has become a subject of wondering for many. Without a doubt, the UFO has raised the bar of my own live performances and helped Phantom to stand out amongst the masses of new electronic indie bands. Furthermore, the UFO has got the attention of various online technology and music blogs (e.g., TechCrunch, Create Digital Music, Synthtopia, NME and The Line Of Best Fit)

Computed fingertip touch for the instrumental control of musical sound with an excursion on the computed retinal afterimage

In this thesis, we present an articulated, empirical view on what human music making is, and on how this fundamentally relates to computation. The experimental evidence which we obtained seems to indicate that this view can be used as a tool, to systematically generate models, hypotheses and new technologies that enable an ever more complete answer to the fundamental question as to what forms of instrumental control of musical sound are possible to implement. This also entails the development of two novel transducer technologies for computed fingertip touch: The cyclotactor (CT) system, which provides fingerpad-orthogonal force output while tracking surface-orthogonal fingertip movement; and the kinetic surface friction transducer (KSFT) system, which provides fingerpad-parallel force output while tracking surface-parallel fingertip movement. In addition to the main research, the thesis also contains two research excursions, which are due to the nature of the Ph.D. position. The first excursion shows how repeated and varying pressing movements on the already held-down key of a computer keyboard can be used both to simplify existing user interactions and to implement new ones, that allow the rapid yet detailed navigation of multiple possible interaction outcomes. The second excursion shows that automated computational techniques can display shape specifically in the retinal afterimage, a well-known effect in the human visual system.Computer Systems, Imagery and Medi

Narrative exploration via media art

Mika 'Lumi' Tuomola introduces a selected chronological collection of Media Lab's, Crucible Studio research group's artistic productions. The Art of Storytelling in New Media research group, Crucible Studio, was originally established in 2002 as a collaboration of the Media Lab with the Media Centre LUMB, when I was the visiting artist at Media Lab Helsinki. As the lead author of the artistic and practice-based research studio proposal, I also started to head it until now. The studio per se does not focus on (Media) Art, but on any generative, interactive and enactive use of narrative in New Media production and design. However, in the investigation of storytelling and drama, experimental Media Art productions - while usually maintaining their standing as art works of their own right as well- have been and are useful tools of exploration via research questions like: • How to bring both designers' I authors' and users' I participants' internal intentions into a dramatically interesting dialogue/chorus within a mediated interaction environment? • What kinds of media database, system, interaction and narrative logics may be able to generate a dramatic interactive experience with coherent audiovisual language? • What are the ethics of (narrative) aesthetics, when designed participatory processes orchestrate multiple points of view? • How have the audience genre expectations evolved (e.g. via games and social media) considering what an interactive/enactive drama/art experience is and how does it influence our design work