daim yoon + yufan wang: mutic box

the ‘mutic box’ music player, designed by daim yoon and yufan wang

‘mutic box’, a piece by cophenhagen institute of interaction design students daim yoon and yufan wang, is a music box recreated from a combination of mechanical and digital components. the user interacts with the device by rolling a plastic wheel, which generates a slight rumble (from a motor) to mimic mechanical tension. the movement of the wheel spins the music decoder: a sheet of acrylic containing 28 small holes filled with conductive material, each representing a note in the melody. an arduino controller registers the rotations of the decoder, playing the corresponding note in time.

the designers state: ‘the idea is to simulate the feeling of the mechanical music box through the sound and haptic feedback in order to recall your nostalgic memories.‘

view of the device in use

building the mechanical system

testing with arduino and max-msp

video demoing ‘mutic box’