Browsing by Author "Johnston, B"

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A New Framework for the Interactive Control of Mechatronic Instruments
(1/11/2016) Johnston, B; Johnson, B; Kapur, A
Abstract—Over recent years there has been significant developments in the burgeoning field of mechatronic musical instruments. These developments have seen mechatronic instruments greatly increase in complexity, and concomitantly, their expressive capabilities. However, the development of designing control systems for these instruments has been lacking, meaning that the use of these expressive new instruments has largely being left to the builders of the instruments themselves, or other especially skilled users. This paper proposes a new framework for the control of mechatronic musical instruments that is designed to afford an intuitive interaction for all users. This design allows for more aesthetic exploration of mechatronic instruments as well as expanding the potential demographic of users. This framework explores the potential of new iPad applications that offer high level control parameters and gestures, for the real-time interaction with mechatronic instruments in both performance and installation settings without assuming prior mechanical knowledge of the user. This paper discusses the current state of the field and the need for this new framework. It then demonstrates and explains three case studies that have being developed by the authors as examples of this new framework.
Nico: Bridging the Gap Between Musician and Tesla Coil
(2014-09-14) Johnston, B; Bailey, J; McKinnon, D
This paper describes the design and implementation of a new interface, Nico, which allows new and existing musical devices to control Tesla Coils. The interface uses an Arduino microcontroller to convert OSC and MIDI control data to TTL pulses that command the behavior of a Tesla Coil. This paper will give some background on the Tesla Coil, outline the design and capabilities of the interface, and will discuss the performance possibilities that Nico creates.
Polus: The Design and Development of a New, Mechanically Bowed String Instrument Ensemble
(2014-07-30) Johnston, B; Dengate Thrush, H; Kapur, A; Murphy, J; Moleta, T
This paper details the creation, design, implementation and uses of a series of new mechanically bowed string instruments. These instruments have been designed with the objective of allowing for multiple parameters of musical expressivity, as well as including the physical and spatial features of the instruments to be integral aspects of their perception as instruments and sonic objects. This paper focuses on the hardware design, software implementation, and present musical uses of the ensemble.