Tradfri - Interface for the simultaneous change of parameters in electronic music
The bachelor thesis "Trådfri" dives into hardwaremanipulation to exploit Ikea's engineering for different purposes. Where Ikea intended the Wireless dimmer to control their smart light system, this project takes the compact form factor and gesture control to create a free form controlling surface with midi output. This way a multilevel interaction with musicsynth, live visuals or any other Software can be achieved in a non destructive manner.
Function
Main goal of this project was to design an interface that uses a wireless interaction tool to provide a spatially unbounded user-created arrangement. Here, the simultaneous modification of parameters in electronic music is the main focus, which is examined in an investigation of the topic. Wireless rotational devices are used to enable this control and can be stacked to create compositions of instruments and effects.
Effect pad
To achieve a secondary function of the wireless dimmers so called "effect pads" were created. The original dimmers have a bowl were they can be stored when not in use. This bowl was enhanced with magnetism sensing sensors on a pcb to detect if a dimmer was placed on it. This way the rotation of the dimmer can get a secondary function. In the prototype usecase this was to select a sound but this can be customised to the software in use.
Impressions
