radio activity streaming device adjusts spotify according to tempo
all images courtesy of gemma roper
working between installations and interaction designs gemma roper spends her time creating and coding electronics that promote optimistic experiences with technology that engage at both an imaginative and intellectual level. her latest creation dubbed ‘radio activity’, is an internet enabled streaming device that allows users to select music according to tempo. the device pairs with spotify and plays songs from a music library that corresponds to the selected tempo.
the device disassembled
with societies grossing need to stare at displays, this project explores tactile interfacing for online music content without the use of a screen. it’s a way to chose and adjust the rhythm of listening without navigating and browsing through an overload of digital content. the ‘radio activity’ presents a form of controlled randomness in music selection. the overtly reduced interface becomes the central focus for interaction by sliding vertically to increase or decrease tempo, imitating a metronome. machined from steel and aluminum dial simultaneously rotates to increase or decrease volume. as a recent graduate from royal college of arts, gemma’s experimenting with analog designs keeps technology and design in check with past that brought us here in the first place.
video courtesy of revista codigo
the piece mimics a metronome
the dial adjusts the volume
the vertical piece is labelled with tempo numbers
the dial slides up and down
the ‘radio activity’ uses an arduino micro computer
inside the dial
