VT - Visual Theremin
The VT (Visual Theremin) is a synthesizer that converts image input to sound. I have coded a prototype for it which uses a webcam and simple additive wave synthesis. In my blog I have explained a little bit how I implemented it from a technical point of view.
What?
This video may tell you more about it than all the words in this page:
This video shows the VT in action playing together with a rythm:
Some features of VT:
- Whereas other inventions focus on finding the input inside the image, in the VT the whole image is the input itself.
- Use 'record background' to leave the webcam fixed towards a certain background and play with you body or any object
- I am adding the possibility of playing musical scales instead of raw pitches. The demo is played in C major.
- Because it is a prototype, you can play with fine parameters like turning gradient calculation on/off or changing the binarize threshold in order to have a slightly different output.
Can I try it?
Yes! But you'll have to follow a few steps. You'll need:
- A webcam
- A soundcard with ASIO drivers
- Java installed
- Java Media Framework (JMF) installed
ASIO is the only interface for professional audio that gives a reasonable latency in Windows. You can use ASIO with Wine in UNIX/Mac OSX. And if your soundcard does't come with ASIO drivers, there is Asio4All that can be used with any soundcard.
The JMF is a standard API for accessing media components from Java used in a wide variety of applications. When you install it, it will automatically configure your webcam, so you must have it turned on.
To execute it, open a command line, go to your VT folder and type "java -jar VT-0.1-alpha.jar". You'll need to type your Webcam and your preferred ASIO driver out of the ones that will appear in a list. From that point on, your configuration will be saved for future runs.
Remember that VT is an alpha prototype to be tested by geeks, not a released software!
Now you may download it and use it under your responsability :)
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