MusicCube: making digital music tangible

To some extent listening to digital music via storage devices has led to a loss of part of the physical experience associated with earlier media formats such as CDs and LPs. For example, one could consider the role of album covers in music appreciation. Previous efforts at making music interaction more tangible have focused mainly on access issues. A case study is presented in which several content attributes of Mp3 formatted music as well as control access are made more visible and tangible. Play lists, music rhythm, volume, and navigational feedback were communicated via multicolored light displayed in a tangible interface. Users were able to physically interact with music collections via the MusicCube, a wireless cube-like object, using gestures to shuffle music and a rotary dial with a button for song navigation and volume control. Speech and non-speech feedback were given to communicate current mode and song title. The working prototype was compared to an Apple iPod, along the di...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Miguel Bruns Alonso, David V. Keyson
• Keywords: CHI 2005, Digital Music Collections, Ergonomic Qualities, Human Computer Interaction, Keywords Tangible Interaction