3D Gesture Acquisition Using Ultrasonic Sensors

Research and musical creation with gestural-oriented interfaces have recently seen a renewal of interest and activity at Ircam. In the course of several musical projects, issued either by from young composers enrolled in the Cursus of Composition and Computer Music or by guests artists, the Pedagogy and Creation departments of Ircam have proposed various solutions for gesture-controlled sound synthesis and processing. In this article, electronic engineer Emmanuel Fléty describes the technical aspects of a specific gestural device designed for acoustic and electronic percussion music. After a brief introduction to the musical context (for further information, see the Roland Auzet article in this issue), the making of a prototype based on ultrasonics technology is presented.