radio activity streaming device adjusts spotify according to tempo

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.

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