microsoft surface pro 3’s #surfacecreate digital hub celebrates the creative process

microsoft surface pro 3’s #surfacecreate digital hub celebrates the creative process

microsoft launches its surface pro 3 #surfacecreate project which celebrates creative development and final project output. the online nucleus, hosted by huffington post UK, follows the journeys of three creative talents through their ideation, fabrication and execution of a concept, all achieved through the use of the surface pro 3. the digital hub #surfacecreate tracks their activities, documenting their process through editorial and visual content.

the #surfacecreate project tracks three design teams and their creative process using microsoft’s surface pro 3

PAN Studio of the UK is among the ateliers being highlighted in the #surfacecreate initiative. through the digital platform, we follow the evolution of their concept proposal which sees them using surface pro 3 to transform objects into musical instruments. with the metaphor of the tablet calling its likeness to a laptop, the surface pro 3 offers the creatives a pen to tablet experience that is simple and smooth — much like the sensation of pen on paper — making the transition of their drawings to digital format seamless.

PAN Studio ideating their music making hammers on a microsoft surface pro 3

focusing on experience-production in their practice, PAN Studio wanted to use the versatile tablet, capable of running expert software, to control things in the real world. using the surface pro 3 to bring their idea to life, they first began by developing their scheme’s interface of 8-10 percussive hammers in adobe photoshop CC — specifically optimized for the surface pro 3, complete with touch gesture controls. the resulting mallets were then made and mounted to sit alongside anything around one’s house. they utilized the tablet to program and deploy the electronic aspects of their ‘sound system’, using the USB port to program arduino, and finally customizing the integrated bluetooth to control the hammers. this technological connection allows the hammers to be triggered remotely to generate music — running in loops, or played in a manner similar to an instrument — all built in visual studio, windows 8 app and run in runtime.

the UK duo wanted to use the table to control things in real life

the creative musical intervention sees individuals using those aspects around them to create music and sound: a child could set the hammers alongside a range of saucepans to form a simple percussive ensemble, controlled using the tablet; a glockenspiel player could couple the tapping devices directly to their instrument and play from the surface pro 3′s electronic interface; or a cat lover could use them to entertain a pet while out of the house, using the connected device’s webcam to check-in.

all aspects of PAN Studio’s development, from ideation to software development was realized on the surface pro 3

the #surfacecreate project seeks to express the multifaceted capabilities of the surface pro 3. whether it be for work or play, just to browse, or to develop a simple hand-drawn sketch into a 3D rendering, the tablet serves as a guide through any level of your creative explorations — from amateur to professional.

Ben Barker making PAN Studio’s concept a reality