I’ve decided to launch a new iambic YouTube channel. I’ll aim to keep this channel updated with various videos related to iambic and to kick things off I’ve uploaded a video of me testing Phalanger, a motion tracking MIDI controller currently being developed by a PhD student at Sussex University.

You can check out the YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/iambicmusic

Video:

Info on Phalanger:
Phalanger is a system which facilitates the control of music software with hand and finger motion, with the aim of creating a fluid style of interaction that promotes musicality. The system is purely video based, requires no wearables or accessories and uses affordable and accessible technology. It employs a neural network for background segmentation, a combination of imaging techniques for frame analysis, and a support vector machine (SVM) for recognition of hand positions. System evaluation showed the SVM to reliably differentiate between eight different classes.

Despite my laptop choking a bit on my improvised set (I think it’s sadly time to upgrade the old MacBook!), Phalanger worked really well. I had it sending MIDI CC data to Ableton Live via the internal IAC driver. The software would detect my different hand gestures then would alter various parameters according to the current gesture and also the position of the gesture on the X & Y axis.

It gave me unparalleled expressive creativity in controlling parameters on my software synthesisers, it would be great to see further development in this area of MIDI controllers.