Bubble Pop Electric - Proposal Summary

The "Bubble Pop Electric" is a fashion-forward, futuristic music suit that attempts to bridge the gap between the independent components of a musical performance. Inspired by Lady GaGa and other avant garde performers of contemporary music, the suit enhances the user's ability to not only control her music but also the theatrical components of the environment.

The suit is composed of three major components:

1. Bubble tokens: the plastic bubble tokens will each carry a resistor and LED that will be activated once it is attached to the body suit. They will initiate different music clips.

2. Stretchable body suit: The stretchable body suit will hold the activation surface for the bubble tokens and also provide the circuit for the LEDs. Also, it will read the user's movement and distort the playback accordingly. It will also carry bluetooth speakers on the shoulders.

3. Drum shoes: The shoes will be attached to vibration sensors that will detect the feet's movement and create drum beats.

Also, there will be a main computer acting as a receptor. It will have a software that will read, arrange, and play the input from the resistors. The exact direction for the programming aspect of the project is still in the process of discussion. However, we envision a system that will effectively sequence music clips (maybe create an array of Strings that represent certain music clips?).

The "Bubble Pop Electric" will be a fun, experimental device for musicians, performers, or any music friendly users who look forward to a more controlling, holistic performance equipment. It allows direct manipulation of music selection and body-aligned control, which will provide much freedom and an entertaining interface device.

References include "Musical B-boying: A Wearable Musical Instrument by Dancing." This TUI device attaches wireless accelerators to dancers' shoes and register different movements to different soundtracks to generate motion sensored music. It is a great inspiration to creating the stretchable body suit, which aims to read the body's movement and produce different musical effects.

And here is the scanned image of what I envision for the final look:

The design of the costume is open to technical and artistic improvements/changes. Our biggest concerns are the arrangement of bubbles-how to determine their sequence and how their placements are to be read.  Also we have to determine the vibration sensors are to be attached to the circuits in the body suit or to carry bluetooth chip. Financial needs and affordability are integral parts to the project; therefore, we also need to discuss the most economical approach to production.