ITP show: Steppers – musical shoes

Christian Cerrito, Sandra Irma Davila & Xiaoyang Feng’s “Steppers” – shoes that play notes when you step.

Steppers were designed to get kids up on their feet, moving, and playing with sound and music. An external sensor sandal is worn over a child’s shoes, noting each footstep, and, in real time, playing back sound effects/music to compliment their movements. Force sensing resistors housed in each sandal wirelessly transmit information back to a computer, which then broadcasts sounds over an FM radio chip that accompany each footstep. Users hear the sounds that they create over an ordinary radio, or through FM headphones.