SurfaceVox - Exploring Sound Control for Gesture-Tracking Interactive Surfaces

Almost 100 years ago, the thereminvox was the first electronic musical instrument that could be controlled without contact. With precise positioning of two hands, the player controls pitch and volume of a sine sound, by changing the distance from two antennas. We present SurfaceVox, which combines the technology behind the thereminvox with an additional acoustic sensor to create a musical instrument that combines mid-air and touch gesture control. We explore various scenarios of sound synthesis and combine the system with an augmented reality application. SurfaceVox has been evaluated in a study with thirteen users for input precision, perceived workload, as well as pragmatic and hedonistic qualities of the application.