PublicSoundtrack allows a group of people to dance collectively to a single tempo while each persons listens to different songs that are synchronized to the group tempo. That is, each user is publicly synchronized with the beat of the group, but privately no two users hear the same song. Users can quickly synchronize to each other using nothing but their bodies and aural feedback, and maintain synchronization when necessary by adjusting their attention to focus on PublicSoundtrack. The interaction smoothly transitions from background to foreground attention both in the group and the individual. This results in ad-hoc, transient, and extremely entertaining social performances.
This project was originally framed as a twisted techno-social experiment that picked at the role of efficiency in our lives, opening it to public discussion. The devices would force users to play no matter how busy they were in hopes of revealing the pervasiveness of the ideology of efficiency. You can read more about that in my
UCI Master''s Thesis, or just watch the comical videos below.
| Platform |
Embedded + Custom |
| Company |
UCI Graduate |
| Role |
Everything |
I want to design artifacts that cause us to examine the role of efficiency in our lives from menial tasks, to work, to vacations. Have you ever wanted to maximize your vacation enjoyment? What might that mean exactly, and why would one want to spend their vacation efficiently? Has efficiency reached far into areas it does not belong? How do we push back against an ideology of efficiency that is deeply embedded both in culture and the artifacts. Can we design computational technologies that cause us to reflect on the role of efficiency in our daily lives?
I believe PublicSoundtrack is an exploration of these ideas. Here's an excerpt from a recent paper of mine:
"Efficiency is a pervasive ideology that extends far into our political, social, and cultural past. It has roots in the management of time, capitalism, the Industrial Revolution, and most recently, computational technologies. We've witnessed a progression of the structuring of time, where efficiency and optimality have become aspirations of not only businesses but also of individuals. The push for efficiency continues today, uniquely embodied by mass-produced ubiquitous computers.
I am not interested in passing judgement on efficiency in an attempt to promote or eliminate it, but am interested in probing its role as an ideology and its reinforcement through software and hardware. Efficiency is neither positive nor negative, but does significantly impact (in both good and bad ways) belief systems, infrastructures, and even frivolous moments of everyday life. Its presence is felt strongly and has become embedded in the fabric of everyday life, and as such deserves heightened attention by designers, users, and academics in general."
Gumstix Basix 400xm-bt
Gumstix Audiostix 2
Sparkfun 2-axis Accelerometer
Custom-built circuit for step-detection, pace calculation, and auto-calibration
900mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Python
Sqlite (via
pysqlite2)
Mad Audio Decoding (via
PyMad)
PyAo
PySerial
Bluez bluetooth libraries
