As we traipse around the summer's degree shows on the hunt for the hottest, brightest, tastiest new talent, some projects just leap out and slap us about the head with their all-round neatness. Like this: a little bit of tech-trickery that turns an ordinary wall into, you guessed it, a piano.
The Wall Piano is the work of Hon Lam Li (Patrick to his friends), who has just graduated from the London College of Communications Interactive Design BA. Watch a video of it in action
here
We got in touch with Patrick to find out more:
CR: How does the Wall Piano work exactly?
P: There are two microphones attached on the wall surface. Those microphones are acting like human ears for the computer. Therefore, the computer is able to hear people who tap/bang on the wall. The program that I made could translate those hits into piano keys.
It all depends on how hard you hit the wall. The lower key will be produced when you hit it harder; and the higher key will be produced when you hit it softer. Just like every other modern piano, it has 88 keys.
[ MORE ...]