InterÉlastique A system for control of an audio-visual experience using novel stretchable sensors

Interactive installations today typically limit the interaction by allowing only one active user at a time, and are commonly based on traditional forms of user input (i.e., keyboards, trackballs, touchscreens, etc.). This paper describes InterÉlastique, a system we have created that allows collaborative tangible interactions through a set of innovative stretchy sensors called eRopes. The system represents an exploration of the relationship between music, text/poetry, visual elements, and physical space. Users are presented with two projection screens that are “connected” with six eRopes. By pulling these eRopes, the users change the music as well as the relationship between the text on each of the screens. Multiple users can collaborate, modifying poetry and music interdependently based on the combination of the different eRope’s signals. The system is composed of the eRopes and their related electronics, several MIDI synthesizers, two projectors, and a computer running the InterÉlastique application which provides audio-visual feedback to the participants.