Fast and Accurate Prototyping of Input Devices for Expert Interaction

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This research proposal aims to explore the development of innovative software and hardware systems for human-computer interaction in musical contexts. It will support my long-term research work focusing on the application of electronics and software development to the design of digital musical instruments (DMIs), instruments that are based on an input device that controls sound (and/or other media) generated by software algorithms. The design of DMIs is a research field that has received substantial attention in the last decade, thanks in part to the international conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) and to an increasingly large community of do-it-yourself designers. In this proposed research, I will approach the design and evaluation of DMIs from three perspectives: - Rapid Prototyping of DMIS: The design of innovative DMIs taking advantage of rapid prototyping tools such as 3D printers and laser cutters, allowing for the creation of unique device forms adapted to user needs in a fast development-test cycle. This fast cycle is essential in collaborative projects involving expert performers, who need to have immediate access to devices so that they can provide feedback to designers on where to improve them. - Sensor Fusion and Embedded Computing for DMIS: The use of advanced instrumentation techniques such as sensor fusion, or the combination of data from several sensors processed by a variety of digital signal processing techniques. Sensor fusion, in tandem with advanced instrumentation techniques for processing raw sensor data, can lead to the design of responsive DMIs for interactive applications that demand accurate and repeatable performance measurements (Medeiros & Wanderley, under review). Together with embedded sound synthesis and tools for mapping such as libmapper, it will be possible to create self-contained, responsive DMIs.- Refinement of a methodology for the evaluation of DMIs: Building upon our recent work and on the recent contributions to the DMI literature, we will refine a methodology for the evaluation of DMIs using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to understand how performers interact with their instruments and how performance expertise develops over time. This understanding will be in turn important to inform the design of novel DMIs. The expected impacts of the research are numerous, both in terms of training high-qualified personnel in a multi-disciplinary research context, and in commercial and social benefits derived from the development of tools for musical expression and for the interaction with computers in expert contexts.