Musical Stairs
Musical Stairs enhances the experience of taking the stairs in the NYUAD Arts Center through spontaneous and collaborative music-creation. Simply walk up or down the stairs and enjoy the sounds!
Technical Specifications
6 ultrasonic distance sensors connected to a Teensy 3.2 were installed on every other stair to track whether anything below a 1 meter threshold (the equivalent of a person's step) occurred. Once a step was identified, serial communication between Arduino and openFrameworks would transfer the sensor input into a sound output (in this case, various guitar notes), creating sounds every time someone walked on the stairs.
Project Goals
1. To encourage the collaboration between people by sound-making through movement.
2. To amplify the experience of walking up the stairs in the NYUAD Arts Center.
3. To establish the stairs as a dynamic location for potential interaction between passersby.
The Process (total time: 1 month)
1. Test and identify the optimum sensor to use (between a capacitive touch sensor, an infrared proximity sensor, and an ultrasonic range finder).
2. Establish serial communication between Arduino and openFrameworks to trigger sound files based on input on the Ultrasonic Distance Sensors.
3. Do an initial prototype to test the proper functioning of all components.
4. Wire, solder, and prepare all components for the month-long installation. Plan and solder a perfboard, to ensure the stability of the wires.
5. Decide on the final sounds to be used. In the end, a guitar pentatonic scale was used.
6. Install everything on the stairs.
7. Clean everything: Hide the wires with black gaff tape, laser cut a black acrylic box to hide the perfboard with the Teensy 3.2 and the wire connections, print and install vinyl stickers to signal which steps play sound, and install a speaker and a Mac Mini.
