SynapticNulship

I recently attended “Music | Machines: 50 Years of Music and Technology @ MIT,” part of MIT’s ongoing Festival of Art + Science + Technology (FAST).

One of the most interesting demonstrations was the iPhone Guitar by Rob Morris of the Media Lab. Basically, he makes use of the iPhone’s accelerometer as an input for special effects.

iPhone Guitar by Rob Morris

The iPhone is attached to the guitar, so that certain gestural movements of the guitar in space–especially those that happen during an emotional performance–are detected and used to modulate the sound. The touch screen of the iPhone also comes in handy as an accessible on-guitar interface for selecting effects and inputting other variables.

The Muse

The Muse

Digital music is no longer a new phenomena; in fact, it’s downright ancient when you consider that one of the first digital music contraptions was made in 1972. The Triadex Muse is an algorithmic music generator using digital logic, and was designed by Edward Fredkin and Marvin Minsky at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

Music, Mind and Meaning

Marvin Minsky at MIT Media Lab, Feb 5, 2011

Speaking of Minsky, he discussed “Music, Mind and Meaning” with Teresa Marrin, Mary Farbood and Mike Hawley. Amongst the anecdotes Minsky mentioned an old concept of goals.

One of the ways human minds might achieve goals is to reduce the difference between what it has and what it wants. Music may utilize some of the same mental components–most music chops time in equal intervals and with equal substructures. These chopped experience windows can be compared, possibly in the same way that you can compare what you have with what you want.

Excerpts from the Concert

Computer based production is normal nowadays. So how would a computer and electronics oriented concert be special? Well, Todd Machover of the Media Lab was able to do that by assembling musicians that make some very unusual sounds and abnormal compositions. They all involve computers and/or electronics, but in innovative ways…and through live performances.

The concert began with a 1976 composition by Barry Vercoe called Synapse for Viola and Computer, an early work from MIT’s Experimental Music Studio. As a restaging of the 1970s performance, the digital accompaniment is inflexible, so it was up to the human soloist, Marcus Thompson, to maintain sync and “express himself within the confines.”

Vercoe – Synapse

Synapse was followed by Synaptogenesis, in which Richard Boulanger performs by triggering sound clips and transformations using a Nintendo WiiMote and a Novation Launchpad.

Boulanger – Synaptogenesis

Programmable drums machines have been around since 1972, but what is rare is to see the machine actuate physical percussion hardware. One such robotic instrument is the Heliphon, originally made by Leila Hasan and Giles Hall, and later redesigned by Bill Tremblay and Andy Cavatorta.

Todd Reynolds, Heliphon the robot, and Evan Zipioryn performing at the MIT Media Lab

The sound from this double helix metallophone is produced via solenoids hammering the metal keys. It also has lights hooked in to give a visual indication of which keys are active.

Heliphon and humans Todd Reynolds (violin) and Evan Ziporyn (clarinet) performed Ziporyn’s Belle Labs – Parts 1 & 3.

Ziporyn, Reynolds, Heliphon – Belle Labs Parts 1 and 3

Heliphon is one of various robotic instruments commissioned by Ensemble Robot, a nonprofit corporation based in Boston, MA. Ensemble Robot also made WhirlyBot, which looks like a turnstile but sounds like a chorus of human-like voices, and Bot(i)Cello, which appears to be a cross between a construction tool and a stringed instrument.

The Future of the Underground

If you’re interested in hearing more electronic music, there is always new stuff (or remixes of old stuff) being made, far below the radar of the mainstream.  You can hear some of it on the web, but being at a live performance or DJ set is a different experience, especially when the DJ modifies the music on the fly.  There are some new tools to enable this, for example, here is DJ/producer Encati demonstrating a Kinect wobble controller for dubstep mutations:

What I would like to see more of are environmental actuations triggered by music, beyond just flashing lights. We have autogenerated visualizers, and we can use MIDI to control lights (and fire cannons), but what about having a room really transform automatically based on the music? I’m taking about dynamic 2D and 3D displays everywhere, autonomous mobile furniture, materials changing shape and color, and so on.

Image credits:

4. MIT
Others by the author.

Cross-posted with H+ Magazine.

I improved my TRON:Legacy-esque illuminated vest and added some illuminated leg cladding. Here is a photo of me from last night (New Year’s Eve):

Me at GALACTICA: A TOGETHER NEW YEAR'S EVE @ Think Tank, Cambridge MA

What Worked

This time the vest front and back worked without fail for several hours.  The overall design worked—everybody either understood the TRON reference or thought it was cool even if they had not heard of TRON (yes, there are many people who have no clue what TRON is despite all the advertising).

The leg cladding looked really cool, but it only worked for a few minutes.

leg cladding

What Failed

One point in the EL wire on my left leg right before the knee failed before I even got to the destination.  After a while the EL wire next to that one also broke.  Since the leg cladding was one long wire, this caused my entire trousers to be conspicuously not shining.

partially illuminated upper leg plate

So I had to walk around and dance with a bunch of cardboard strapped to my legs for no reason.

the broken connections

Human factors of crotch access: Another problem with the cyber trousers ensemble is due to rushing at the last minute I used just one long wire for both legs instead of two.  This resulted in an illuminated wire going straight across my fly, a clear violation of human factors.  After all, I would be drinking and that will inevitably result in needing to urinate, and hence needing to open my fly. Also if I wanted to illuminate my crotch I could come up with a much more attractive scheme than a wire going straight across.  So my quick fix was to cover it with a black wire shroud and push it against my belt, but that in turn probably made the strain on the EL wire much worse.

The arm band: I figured the tiny connector and wires on my arm band would probably fail, and sure enough they did.  I had added some tape as strain relief but it wasn’t enough:

Lessons Learned

Having dealt with lots of wires and connectors in the past on robotics and wearable computers, I knew that the connectors and wires should be robustified, however I ran out of time before the event.  Also, EL wire really does not handle flexing and pulling very well, so I will pay special attention to that.  Also, a more robust solution than having one long EL wire for both legs would be to have separate EL wires so that if one fails the other will stay illuminated (it’s somewhat annoying though to solder EL wire because you have to scrape the phosphorous off the center lead).

Also, making the cardboard attachments for my legs forced me to figure out how to make crude patterns.  Interesting, but certainly not something I’d want to do all the time!

So, next time we will see what else I can come up with to improve this getup before I get completely bored with it.

According to philosopher Alva Noë, “Consciousness is more like dancing than it is like digestion.” I.e., consciousness happens while you are interfacing with the world.

But is it ballroom dancing, techno dancing, break dancing…the robot?

Consciousness

Sure, you can dance by yourself—especially to industrial and EBM—but you need music. And music is at least partially external. And there’s probably people around you. Crazy people. And a disco ball, and strobe lights…it’s an environment.

Does this mean your consciousness is dependent on interactions?

If you were in a sensory deprivation chamber would you be unconscious? I think you would have hallucinations and eventually go insane. But you would probably still be self aware and relatively conscious, at least until the black hole of strange loop madness consumed you.

However, that is in lifetime space (ontogeny). Consciousness might be fully dependent on interactions in evolution space (phylogeny).

So can this metaphor stretch to unconsciousness? Maybe unconsciousness is like doing the fish stick.

Unconsciousness

I have been using the handle SynapticNulship for several months, and now it is the title of this blog.  I created this term because it conveys my interest in cognitive neuroscience combined with the concept of an advanced flying device.  A nullship is an antigravity conveyance—one might imagine a small volantor (flying car) or a large hovering ship not limited by typical aircraft lift constraints.  I was introduced to this word via a Heinlein novel that I read as a teenager (unfortunately, searching for “nullship” on the web turns up almost…null).  Spelling “null” as “nul” is unnecessary, but it could be considered an extra nod to computer nerds and those into the whole brevity thing.  A synapse is an interface between neurons in the brain, and the brain (along with the rest of the nervous system) is the captain’s chair of the mind (not the best metaphor but it sounds cool).  That notion paired with the notion of a futuristic antigravity ship results in a vague sense of flying above current minds with future technology.  Or it could mean a rising propelled by one’s mind.

DJ Endo – Live in Baltimore by DJ Endo