Stylish Music Wear
The Pico Glove & Digital Tap Shoe

Perry Cook


The TapShoe constructed at Interval Research as part Bob Adam's Expressions Project. This shoe used force sensing resistors and accelerometers attached directly to a DSP board runing PhISEM shaker algorithms and a small rhythmic loop. The algorithm generated a basic "groove" to which the wearer of the shoe could add accents and dynamics, in addition to their own tapping sounds. The success of the system came from giving the TapShoe wearer of the shoe could add accents and dynamics, in addition to their own tapping sounds. The success of the system came from giving the TapShoe wearer that feeling that they were actually perfoming the music, though the algorithmic loop would play a relatively boring tapping sound even if the shoe sat unworn ("Instant music, subtlety later").


The Pico Glove was designed as a single composition, called "Pico I for Seashells and Interactive Glove". The idiomatic gesture of moving the hand in and out of the shells was enhanced by a tilt sensor in the glove. This was used to steer fractal note-generation algorithms in real time, to accompany the blown shells.


Download Pico Sample SoundFile



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