sonic city   research process   wearable design   sonic experience   publications   + observations + urban workshop + experience scenarios

To include both experiential and technical perspectives, design and system development have occurred in parallel in a highly collaborative and multi-disciplinary research process. From the technical side, issues concerned sensing and retrieval, input and control parameters, sound processing and mapping. From the design side, methods were used to develop these in relation to interaction, wearability, and lifestyle factors. THE CITY AS AN INTERFACE At the start of the project, we carried out mini-ethnographic studies of pedestrians. Observations revealed behavioral sequences that could be considered as compositions – for instance, patterns of glancing, changing course, and speed at crosswalks. Collected descriptions were broken into two levels – body and environment – providing cues that could be used for action and context recognition. From this, we refined the system as a series of wearable sensors for generating music from bodily and environmental activity. + observations SOUNDSCAPES OF EVENTS AND ACTION Combining multiple sensors gave the possibility for music that was both highly personal and inextricable from local events and urban conditions. As we developed a prototype, we explored parameters in the experience through user interviews and a workshop. + urban workshop In mapping out the design space, we used experience scenarios to explore balances between body / environmental influence and random / deterministic characteristics. Thus, the sound was designed with clearly perceivable factors combined with elements of surprise, such that the music changes dynamically and remains interesting for daily use. + experience scenarios MOBILITY AS MUSICAL INTERACTION In our research process, we explored mobility as a model for interaction. Taking gesture as a starting point for interaction, Sonic City treats mobility through the city as gestural interaction on a large scale, extending musical creativity both geographically and temporally into everyday lived experience.