#1

i had this idea a few years ago that was put on the back burner, but these seems like a great space to perhaps revisit it.

inspired greatly by the amazing work of lara and sarah grant, i started to design a controller that would have long flex sensors. the idea was to attempt to create something beyond push buttons, pots, and touch screens, to aid in the manipulation of sound. an interaction perhaps could bridge the gap between acoustic interactions and digital sounds. i did a write up about it, and hid it away. to say the idea is basic is a gross understatement, and i never even got as far as prototyping anything. curious if there is any other interest in this?

#2

how long are you thinking? and in what arrangement? i like the idea of large arrays of standard sensors that become interesting due to physical reality, the they are manipulated in mass as a system.

i’m uncertain about sourcing super-long flex sensors-- these seem a somewhat standard length:

#3

totally! the other big inspiration come from an artist experimenting with artificial plant matter. they created a field interspersed with fake blades of grass that would change color based on how much movement occurred. having an array that would interact like that would be really interesting to interact with.

as for the sensors, when i started looking a few years ago, i reached out some different manufacturers for samples to see what and how their flex sensors would behave and to test them. i know have a couple of different types that i have still never tested. oops!