Welcome to the The Sonic Project homepage

introduction

With The Sonic Aura Project, I will try to explore the boundaries of the virtual identity within an online environment that solely relies on a audio-signals as means of self-representation.

Update: Currently I'm trying to get swf files working in combination with LightBox2. So far, interaction seems broken. Please download the pack with executables here (OSX), these are all tested and working properly.

Contents

Resources

Concepts

The main concept is divided into three interface studies that present different qualities, the three interfaces consist of the Lifestream, a Virtual Proximity browser and a Actual Proximity browser.

(Note: please make sure you have the Adobe Flash plugin installed for displaying the demo's below).

no.1_ Lifestream architecture

Lifestream architecture

In the project every participant's behavior is mediated through several input types which translate themselves more or less into different sound layers: a 'social media meta layer' (linked to one's existing social networks), a 'physical layer' and a 'corporeal layer'. Roughly the three types of input represent different instruments (although there are some grey areas), namely: melody (meta-layer), rhythm (the user’s heart-rate) and ambience (microphone recordings).

Details:

  • Turn on your sound
  • Click anywhere in the animation (or press 'enter') to switch between different streams
Open Demo

no.2_ Virtual proximity

Virtual Proximity

This second interface consists of an visualization formed by three axises to represent input types as described above. The node located in the middle is the user who, in order to attract similar nodes, has to broadcast his own lifestream. Other nodes float throughout different areas or towards the middle as they too constantly transmit data. Virtual proximity might occur when another user would be in the same geographical area and thus transmitting the identical microphone input, although the absence of any location data makes this very unlikely. In the worst case nodes won’t be pulled within the aura of the user’s node, which would demand more rigorous measures of the participant.

Details:

  • Turn on your sound
  • Click the various nodes to switch between channels
  • Add nodes to your network that are within the user's aura
Open Demo

no.3_ Actual proximity

Actual Proximity

The third demo presents a model for networking through physical public sphere. It incorporates Global Positioning System (GPS) as the key tool for the user’s ability of navigating. In the visuals, the user is located on the left of the mobile screen and is presented as an analogy of the location marker of traditional radio interfaces. Along the horizontal axis participants appear according to their physical proximity. Vertically the interface is split up into three segments: the dark area on the right is the space where the dots are actually visible of which the signals isn’t received by the user, when a node’s aura ‘touches’ the middle segment (grey) the transmitting is automatically started (the system privileges the closest nodes when automatically playing), when a node reaches the light area it can actually be added to the user’s network.

Details:

  • Turn on your sound
  • Hit 'open browser' in the opening screen
  • Press 'up' (or 'space') to go forward, 'down' to go back
Open Demo