Project Title
Floating Keys
Project Statement of Purpose
We want to make something like a piano keyboard with sensors connected to the computer. There will be a game in processing that plays different songs and shows which key can make the correct sound. The player should follow the hints and put his hands above the right key to play the song correctly and win the game. With the sensors, he doesn’t need actually to touch it, which we think is more interesting. We got the inspiration from the instrument simulator kind of games and my partner’s personal experience of practicing piano. We hope it can make the process of practicing more effective and enjoyable for both people who have learned the piano before or have no experience with it.
Project Plan
The project consists of two parts, the physical part of the keyboard with sensors and the part of code and images in Arduino and Processing. In Processing, we’ll need to create an interface for the game that changes according to different songs and the user’s movement. The sensors will be placed under the keyboard, detecting the hands’approach and returning the data to Arduino. Then Arduino will send relevant values to Processing, and the interface in Processing will change accordingly. For next week, we need to build a prototype and work on the necessary code of the game. In the second week, we’ll run tests to modify and improve the code, also continue to complete its exterior. During the last week, we’ll add more decorations to make it look better and add more details to the code to perfect the game experience. As it is a game, we’ll need to collect feedback from the players to improve it throughout the whole process.
Context and Significance
My previous research on ICEBERG reminds me that the interaction between the machine and the user might need to be more transparent and direct so that the user can get a sense of participation and satisfaction easier. Later the research on LATE SHIFT inspires me that we could make a game to create a combination of interaction and entertainment, where the user is actively engaged during the whole process. So we intend to do the project in the form of a game.
The process is that the computer shows above which sensor the user should place his hand, and the sensor will detect the hands, and the result will be returned and shown on the screen. The game can be restart, and the process can go on and on. What happens during the game aligns with my definition that interaction is a cyclical and mutual process that one responds to the action of another. Just like Crawford’s metaphor of conversation and the idea of “input, output, and processing” from Physical Computing, it is a conversation between the input of the user and computer’s processing and output in the form of music and image.
Compared to games like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, the physical part (the keyboard) of our project can make the interaction more direct, and more like a real piano. And the fact people don’t need to touch the keyboard makes the game more futuristic and fun. This game helps people who want to get more familiar with the songs and notes, but find only practicing on the real piano for a long time could be a bit dull. For those who have never played the piano before, it can both provoke their interest and help them relax. It can be fun and educational at the same time.
Works Cited
Crawford, “What Exactly is Interactivity,” The Art of Interactive Design, pp. 1-5.
Igoe and O’Sullivan, “Introduction,” Physical Computing, pp. 1-4