“Sensonic: Wearable Liquid Metal Composite Sensors for Live Electroacoustic Music” uses material blends of liquid metal and polymer as custom wearable sensors developed by Dr. Koh to convert musicians’ movements into OSC (Open Sound Control) data streams that will drive live electroacoustic music and spatial sound trajectories to accompany the acoustic sounds performed by the musicians in an original musical composition by Dr. Dewar. The instrumentation for the musical work will be determined by the engineering aspects of the sensors that are to be tested (e.g. blown, struck, or plucked instruments). The materials designed by Dr. Koh take advantage of the low-modulus and durability of PDMS and the simultaneous conductivity and fluidity of galinstan to create sensitive, conformable, and high load-bearing sensors. The data gathered during the musicians’ use of the sensors will then be analyzed by Dr. Koh to test the formulation-processing-property relationships key to optimizing these materials for various engineering functions of the wearable sensors in future broader applications including biomedical devices and soft robotics.
Collaborators
Dr. Amanda Koh, CARI Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Dr. Andrew Raffo Dewar, CARI Faculty Fellow and Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts, New College and Music