Acoustic Fields

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openFrameworks
Machine vision
Raspberry Pi
Site-specific

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Proposal

This practice-based research investigates how the sounds of functioning technological objects mediate our experience of an environment. By combining machine vision (to track a person’s position in space) with amplified technological sounds, usually experienced unconsciously as 'background relations', it seeks to explore how these sounds mediate the audiences' perception of space and of the objects themselves.

By applying the piezo microphone to specific technological objects in the space the artwork uses the 'material' sound pertaining to each object and amplifies them to an audible level via bluetooth headphones. By using these sound recordings in conjunction with machine vision the artwork activates and deactivate objects depending on the position of a person in relation to the objects in space.

PS3 eye webcam with a Raspberry Pi running openFrameworks, mounted inside a glass fronted container.

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The participants distance from an object mapped to its amplification so as a person moves closer it's sound will increase.

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Using colour tracking the PS3 eye webcam searchs for the light atached to the set of bluetooth headphones on the particpant. Using these corordinated it calculates the particpants position in relation to the corordinates of the other objects in the space. The volume of the objects pre recorded sounds are then adjusted by calulating the distance bewteen the object and the person. If very close the sound is loud, getting quiter the further the person moves away.

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Bluetooth headphones plays the sounds of the objects.

A red light attached to the top of the headphone is used to

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The participant hears the clock amplified as they move closer.

Projector.

Monitor.

WiFi plug.

Video documentation of 'Acoustic Fields'.

Radiator.