Wearable_SuperNow
Wearable_SuperNow
Interactive technology that gives superpowers
Created by Paola Tognazzi
Introduction
Wearable_SuperNow is an interactive instrument that listens to the body’s movements and translates them into sounds. Made of bracelets with motion capture sensors, allows wearers to produce and control sound with their movements.
This interaction gives the superpower of making bodies speak, activating a process where users learn to listen to their own bodies and engage in a dialogue with them.
Motivation
Based on the vision of combining interactive technology with physical movement, Wearable_SuperNow creates immersive installations that generate transformative experiences by fostering audience participation and physical awareness.
The superPower
A Silence That Is Not Silent: Listening to the Intention of Movement Before It Happens
Musical instruments are usually outside the body, creating a distance between the player and the instrument. Wearable_SuperNow changes this by placing sensors on the body, effectively eliminating the gap between the body and the instrument. This setup makes the body and the instrument become one.
Once worn, even if the wearer isn’t actively moving, the simple act of breathing can trigger the instrument to make sounds.
This system heightens the wearer’s awareness that their body is always active, even when they are not consciously moving.
This is the superpower and the challenge of Wearable_SuperNow: it gives wearers the superpower to anticipate movement, compelling them to be present even when they’re still. To harness this power, wearers must deeply listen to and connect with their bodies.
A guardian angel: anticipating the future
This process of internal connection and deep listening can be described as a silence that is not silent; a journey into anticipating movement before it happens.
In this journey, Wearable_SuperNow acts like a guardian angel anticipating movement before it becomes visible, allowing wearers to listen to the intention of their movements and develop a heightened awareness of their physical presence.
In doing so, it reveals that the body is alive, it breathes, and is always in motion, even when at rest. In fact, it is in the pauses of false silence where the future happens.
The ability to listen at such a speed creates the synchrony of action-reaction necessary in communication, which ultimately brings them closer to their own bodies and helps them connect with others.
How It Works
When moving, the sensors capture data from each accelerometer. These data express the degree of acceleration to which the body is being subjected. The data are filtered in Pure Data, and every movement produces different sounds.
Users control the tempo variation of audio tracks through the energy of their movements: Fast movements accelerate the tempo.Slow movements decelerate the music tempo. With this system, the music follows the dancer.
Accelerometer Sensors
Capture movement data
Pure Data Filtering
Processes sensor data
Sound Generation
Produces different sounds
Music Follows Dancer
Interactive performance
Fast Movements
Accelerate tempo
Slow Movements
Decelerate tempo
Interface Features
Through the interface, users can:
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Choose which sound assign to each sensor, tempo’s effects and three different degrees of sensitivity calibration.
Save settings and create storyboards.
Interchange audio and their effects from one sensor to another through the permutation system.
Record live text and audio that go directly into the sensors.
Applications
Wearable_SuperNow applications include:
Transferring Physical Memories
During the Wearable_Dynamics workshops at the Cervantes Institute in China, we developed the idea of using Wearable_SuperNow to transfer physical memories from one person to another.
We recorded choreographic instructions in the system, and participants, while wearing Wearable_SuperNow, had to listen to these instructions and then try to perform them. Because the modulation of the interactive system changes the instructions slightly and each participant interprets them differently, the dances always turn out uniquely.
This experience led to the idea of “memory transfer.” The audience can collect their memories as messages and share them with others. With Wearable_SuperNow, these messages are not just words anymore; they come alive, transforming into a real experience of sensations.