Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 6.12
Appearance of Bathcratch
6.4
Bathcratch
The sounds that a bathtub makes when rubbed, brushed, or struck are familiar to
virtually everyone. We propose using the bathtub as an interface for creating music.
To explore this concept, we developed Bathcatch (Hirai et al.
2012
), a system that
detects the squeaks made when rubbing a bathtub, as well as the sounds made by other
such actions, and converts them into musical sounds (see Fig.
6.12
)
3
. By embedding
sensors that can detect touch and sounds, the bathtub is virtually converted into a
user interface (UI) for a DJ controller. We intend for this to be a new way to make
everyday activities more fun.
In this section, we present a system overview and describe the method by which
scratching sounds are processed to associate interaction with rhythm tracks. In ad-
dition, we describe the feedback received from the public at an exhibition where the
Bathcratch system was installed.
6.4.1
System Overview
As shown in the overview in Fig.
6.13
, a contact microphone (a piezo sensor) is
attached on the inside edge of the bathtub at the point where the right hand of
the user would normally be placed. The microphone senses squeaks made when
the bathtub is rubbed as solid vibrations in the body of the tub. The sounds are
processed by a software called the Squeaking Sound Detector, which handles the
rubbing input. For the left hand, capacitive touch sensors are provided, which allow
various other inputs to be given to Bathcratch. These embedded sensors represent one
novel feature of the system: they are invisible and do not impede everyday cleaning
of the bathtub. A video projector installed above the tub projects virtual buttons
over the touch sensors on the left side and marks the input area on the right for
the contact microphone. Another novelty is the flexibility of the interactive display
3
Bathcratch movie 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp_0rPx-RSY.
