This Interactive Sound Piece is a Mashup of a Theremin and a Cat

Maker News
This Interactive Sound Piece is a Mashup of a Theremin and a Cat

If Jeff Goldbum’s character in The Fly were actually a cat, and the fly that inadvertently gets into one of his “telepods” were a theremin, then Goldblum’s character might have ended up turning into something resembling this fantastic project called Mew. Made by Emily Groves, Jackie Ford, Jakub Pollág, and Paula Arntzen as a collaborative project between Design Products, Information Experience Design, and Visual Communication students at the Royal College of Art in London, Mew combines the interactivity of a theremin with the sound and texture of a cat.

Our final outcome was Mew, an interactive sound piece. As you walk towards the curious and gawkish object, it begins to emit a soft purring sound. This tells you that the object is responsive and encourages further interaction. If you stroke the fur, it will emit distorted meow sounds that are manipulated by the direction your hand moves. Pushing on the object will also alter the sounds, but pressing too hard will make Mew hiss.

mew-soundobject-1

Basically, the construction of the work included sewing conductive thread into the fur and connecting it to capacity sensors, as well as pressure sensors, that sent information to an Arduino. The readings from the Arduino were then sent to a Mac Mini running a program called Max which controlled the sound.

mew-soundobject-2

This project looks like so much fun, I’d like to give one of these a nice pet someday.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Artist, writer, and teacher who makes work about popular culture, technology, and traditional craft processes. http://www.andrewsalomone.com

View more articles by Andrew Salomone

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK