The main ambition in the audiohive project has been to exploit the forces of the design team. During the theoretical phase, different methods and techniques have been used to generate ideas and create a strong concept.
Vision: Igennem et generativt design, hvor brugeren er medvirkende til at kreere designets auditive oplevelse og visuelle udtryk, vil vi skabe et spændende og udforderne lydligt Sonic Interaction Design (SID) der fordre fællesskaber og auditiv ligestilling.
Theoretical tools used in the inspiration process:
Methodology (got its inspiration from Oblique Stratgies by Brian Eno) Inspiration Card Workshops (Kim Halskov, Peter Dalsgård DIS 2006, June 26–28, 2006, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA, ACM). Iterative Prototyping and use of Mock-ups Future scenarios
Ethnographical inspired fieldstudies
Inspiration: Ambilight by Philips, Flow by Thatgamecompany, Spore by Maxis, Throwleds, Brain Eno, Interactive bench (CPH), Minecraft, and Bloom (Brian Eno app for iPhone).
CONSTRUCTION OF THE BOX
The wooden box-frame is made of four sides and a top measuring 46x46cm, with a 30x30cm cutout in the middle. The sides and top were assembled to form a perfect cube that makes the outer frame of the entire audiohive. Behind the five cutouts of the box-frame are the inner frames containing both mirrors and the RGB LEDs. The frames measure 2cm in depth. A normal mirror was fastened on the back of the inner frame and a two-way mirror was fastened between the front of the inner frame and the box-frame. These mirrors are essential parts in the infinity illusion projected by the LEDs. Three jack cables are placed in one corner of the box’s top. These jacks are connected to the electronics inside the box.
Basic electronics
An essential part of the infinity illusion is the 100 RGB LEDs (20 placed in the five frames of the sides and the top). These LEDs are soldered onto parralel circuits each connected to an Arduino board that works as a connection between the electronics and software.
Coding of custom software
Several subpatches was programmed in Max/MSP, to accomodate the features of the audiohive. These subpathes control either the visual effects of the box, or the audio input and output.
Audio patches include:
- Detection of jack-input
- Recording audio and transforming it inro spectral images
- Playback of spectral images (as audio) through a generative algorithm
All audio processed in the patches is imported into Ableton Live, where additional effects and mastering is applied.
Visual controller patches include:
- Visual LED response on spectral image audio values
