June 11-15 Edgar Berdahl and Florian Goltz will do a week-long intensive workshop on the subject of music interation using open, embedded single-board linux computers and PureData.

Please see the workshop information below, and feel free to pass this along to anyone you think would be interested!

Satellite CCRMA: Interactive design with open embedded computers

June 11th, 2012 10:00 am until June 15th, 2012


Advanced registration is required for this course and can be made using the online registration form at STEIM.ORG: http://steim.org/event/ccrma-invention- … nt-design/ More information about the workshop can also be found at this link.

This is an in-depth course in physical interaction design led by researchers Edgar Berdahl and Florian Goltz. In this workshop we will explore the essential notions of interactive art and invention through working with small embeddable computers (the open, DIY-friendly Beagle Board). These small computers combine the connectivity of a laptop with the computational power of a high-end smartphone; however they are less expensive than either and fit inside a cigar box. We will dedicate much of the workshop to prototyping new functional artworks, for example: musical instruments, effects processors, interactive installation works, and anything else you can imagine that requires high computational power in a small, inexpensive footprint.

In the broader sense this workshop deals with interaction design: What happens when human behaviours meet those of machines? How do the devices we use determine the style of interaction? How do we design for the limitations of human performance and the affordances of machines? A key component of this workshop will be learning about the process of making something that interacts with the real world. We will cover the topic of physical interaction design in depth, using the physical interaction design framework developed by Bill Verplank as a fundamental approach.


Specific topics we will cover include:

    The core perspectives of physical interaction design: idea, metaphor, model, display, error, scenario, tasks, and control
    Exercises in invention, brainstorming and sketching
    A survey of existing controllers and interactive music practices
    Embedded, open computing with Linux and the Beagle Board
    Sensor technologies (force-sensitive, capacitive, optical, and acceleration) and the design of custom DIY sensors using conductive and piezoelectric fabrics
    Applications of sensors and electronics to real-time music
    Programming music synthesis and effects with PureData
    Interfacing sensors with the Beagle Board using the Arduino Nano
    Hands-on work with analog and digital electronics

Dates: 11 – 15 June , 2012
Time: 10:00 – 19:00 each day with lunch break
Location: STEIM, Achtergracht 19, 1017WL Amsterdam
Cost: €300 registration + cost of workshop kit *(see below)
For those traveling from abroad, STEIM has available a number of rooms in our artist hotel for a discounted rate. Please contact us directly by email if you are interested in reserving one of these rooms.