S t r i n g s

 

 

* * A b o u t

* * C o n t e x t

* * I n t e r f a c e

* * S o u n d s c a p e

* * E x h i b i t i o n

* * T e a m



 

 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
I n t e r f a c e :
 
T e x t i l e S u r f a c e (outer skin):
Strings presents a highly haptic and textured textile surface created by a mixed-media translucent silk organza that has been digitally printed and hand-embroidered with a variety of stitches and materials.
 
T e x t i l e S t r u c t u r e (nervous system):
Strings' textile membrane is formed by a non-elastic-cotton micro-tulle, upon which conductive wire strings (silver-plated copper of 0.10mm diameter) are hand-sewed on both sides, horizontally on one side and vertically on the other. The embedded wire strings form a grid whose conductive rows and columns cannot make contact within the same plane unless being compressed by touch.
 
P r o g r a m m i n g (brain):
The wired conductive strings are connected to a complex of shift registers, and the complex is in turn connected to an Arduino microcontroller. Each cross-section of the conductive strings is perceived within the Arduino programming environment as an element of a matrix whose rows and columns are accordingly equivalent to the parallel and vertical conductive strings of the textile. The textile simulates this way a tactile, numerical interface that is activated by touch and whose resolution depends on the density of the conductive grid. That allows for the gestures of the users upon the textile to be captured as a series of physically compressed conductive cross-sections, and eventually as strings of values that respond to the matrix elements. These data are then passed to MAX/MSP and Csound to generate sound according to the performed gestures.