The project
Computer Orchestra is a crowdsourcing platform that allows users to create and conduct their own orchestra. They can choose to upload their own music or download samples to integrate into their formation. With a simple interface, they assign the chosen samples to each post. They can also arrange detection zones, that allow them to order the "musicians" to play, using various gestures. Once their orchestra is configured, they can direct it with the movements of their body.
The project works as follows
The Kinect detects the director's movements and transmits the data to Processing via the SimpleOpenNI library. Processing then sends a signal to the corresponding computers via wifi. These then play the samples that are assigned to them and generate a visual derived from the outgoing sound. In this manner, the "musician-screens" not only send sound back to the director, but also visual feedback. The final composite sound is then fed through to a pair of ELAC Debut B5.2 bookshelf speakers which allow the user to hear and make out each 'instrument' with a high degree of accuracy.