A mechanical device that creates unique visual

patterns of the songs you are listening to!

We unfortunately love to make things a bit complicated... In this case we took the opportunity to bridge one of the APIs (Echo Nest) up there in the abstract cloud, into a physical, mechanical structure, that rotates and creates permanent visualizations of the track data on various surfaces. An interesting blend of digital and analogue techniques!

The details

1) Echo Nest Java API is used to analyze songs on a PC

2) The data is parsed and sent over WiFi to an Android 2.1 phone (Google Nexus One)

3) The appropriate control signals are generated on the phone and sent over Bluetooth to a microcontroller

4) Microcontroller sends the appropriate control signals to a custom-built (see pics!) mechanically rotating arm, with a radially moving axis, so that we can cover a full circle with ink!

Albin Karlsson
www.albinkarlsson.com

Alex Olwal
www.olwal.com