This page describes the construction of a wireless multi-track video sampler for the performing arts.

Know as a «magic glove», this project was shown at the MIT Media Lab Europe in 2004, under the name «Computer-Assisted Schizophrenia» (old project page : http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~lew/research/CAS/), and tested by different dancers and musicians.

The glove is a multi-track video sampler for a solo performer. It lets a single actor record up to 4 looped video tracks of himself, at a touch of his finger while he is performing, controlling loop duration at the frame accuracy.

The remote controller is embedded in a glove as a low-power RF wireless emitter : each finger is a contact switch that controls recording and playback of one of the four distinct variable-length loops of video. Each track is stored separately, decompressed and composited in real time.

This dispositif is quite commonly used by guitarists. Since guitarists use their two hands to play their instrument, they usually use their feet to control the recording or playback of sound loops, therefore the common hardware interface is a set of pedals, aka «effects pedals» (common brands : Korg, DOD, …).

Liste de fournitures

• gants en cuir
• émetteur/récepteur HF
• batteries
• fil électrique gainé
• petit microcontrôleur

Liste de logiciels

• PCB design software