2013 – 3D sound mixer for live spatialization by Emily Graber, Mike Mendoza, and David Grunzweig
The Space Ball is an intuitive interface for live spatialization. Traditional mixers and other output controllers tend to limit a performer’s abilities to manipulate sound diffusion in real time, due to complicated channel layouts and slider coordination challenges.
The Space Ball offers multi-track spatialization in three dimensions via video tracking of fiducial markers under a dome surface. A vector-based panner in PD takes the fiducial positions and outputs sound to the appropriate speakers in real-time.
The video below shows the magnetic connectors holding fiducial markers in place across a glass dome. The dome mimics the shape of the 3D speaker array. A wide-angle web cam tracks the fiducial positions and relays the information to the pure data patch for panning.
N.b. changes in volume in the recording below reflect the changes in spatial location of the sound apparent for the audience.