Mobile DJ: a Tangible, Mobile Platform for Active and Collaborative Music Listening

This paper presents Mobile DJ, a tangible, mobile platform for active music listening, designed to augment internet-based social interaction with the element of active music listening. A tangible interface facilitates users to manipulate musical effects, such as incorporating chords or “scratching” the record. A communication and interaction server further enables multiple users to connect over the Internet and collaborate and interact through their music. User tests indicate that the device is successful at allowing user immersion into the active listening experience, and that users enjoy the added sensory input as well as the novel way of interacting with the music and each other.