AuRal: A Mobile Interactive System for Geo-Locative Audio Synthesis

Jesse Allison, and Christian Dell

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract:

Aural -of or relateing to the ear or hearing Aura -an invisible breath, emanation, or radiation AR -Augmented Reality AuRal is an environmental audio system in which individual participants form ad hoc ensembles based on geolocation and affect the overall sound of the music associated with the location that they are in. The AuRal environment binds physical location and the choices of multiple, simultaneous performers to act as the generative force of music tied to the region. Through a mobile device interface, musical participants, or agents, have a degree of input into the generated music essentially defining the sound of a given region. The audio landscape is superimposed onto the physical one. The resultant musical experience is not tied simply to the passage of time, but through the incorporation of participants over time and spatial proximity, it becomes an aural location as much as a piece of music. As a result, walking through the same location at different times results in unique collaborative listening experiences.

Citation:

Jesse Allison, and Christian Dell. 2012. AuRal: A Mobile Interactive System for Geo-Locative Audio Synthesis. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1178203

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{Allison2012,
 abstract = {Aural -of or relateing to the ear or hearing
Aura -an invisible breath, emanation, or radiation AR -Augmented Reality
AuRal is an environmental audio system in which individual participants form ad hoc ensembles based on geolocation and affect the overall sound of the music associated with the location that they are in.
The AuRal environment binds physical location and the choices of multiple, simultaneous performers to act as the generative force of music tied to the region. Through a mobile device interface, musical participants, or agents, have a degree of input into the generated music essentially defining the sound of a given region. The audio landscape is superimposed onto the physical one. The resultant musical experience is not tied simply to the passage of time, but through the incorporation of participants over time and spatial proximity, it becomes an aural location as much as a piece of music. As a result, walking through the same location at different times results in unique collaborative listening experiences.},
 address = {Ann Arbor, Michigan},
 author = {Jesse Allison and Christian Dell},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.1178203},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 keywords = {AuRal, sonic environment, distributed performance system, mobile music, android, ruby on rails, supercollider},
 publisher = {University of Michigan},
 title = {AuRal: A Mobile Interactive System for Geo-Locative Audio Synthesis},
 url = {http://www.nime.org/proceedings/2012/nime2012_301.pdf},
 year = {2012}
}