Durham, NC - Ever wonder what movement sounds like?

Technology developed by Duke Engineering's Visualization Technology Group to investigate how computers and humans interact is also being used as a tool for interesting young people in the sciences.

Beginning Saturday, June 21, the unusual Duke interactive sound and movement installation will be recreated at Durham's Museum of Life and Science. It will remain there until the end of the year.

The installation, dubbed "soundSpace: Hear Motion," is a 30 x 30 foot sound space where free movement creates sounds based on images captured by a series of web cameras. It is the result of a collaboration between researchers at the Pratt School of Engineering and faculty members of the Department of Music. It features nine web-enabled cameras mounted on the ceiling of the space. Each camera sends images to a cluster of computers that determine how much motion is in the space.

The specific location of motion determines which specific sounds are generated. Some movement will initiate familiar outdoors noises such as wind chimes, rain, lightning. Other sounds will include musical instruments such as the marimba, gongs, voices, synthesizers and a variety of percussion instruments; familiar bird calls from wrens, blackbirds and woodpeckers; and common household noises such as tinkling glasses and cell phone ring tones.

"The physicality of the movement and the emotional impact of the music generated by the installation captures the imagination of visitors and encourages them to explore and develop an understanding of the technical aspects of the system," said Steve Feller, Duke engineer and one of the lead designers of Duke's three-year project.

The amount of motion in each area changes the intensity and volume of the experience. In some cases, spinning beneath a camera sends sounds swirling around the room.

"An interactive music installation is an exciting opportunity for composers to explore new models of live performance," said Scott Lindroth, associate professor of music at Duke. "Instead of preparing a fixed musical composition, one has to leave room for unpredictable decisions by the participants in the space. We hope the music and sound design will encourage participants to ‘play' the room as if it were a musical instrument."

At the museum installation, visitors can use computer kiosks to develop custom soundscapes from a large library of sounds using simple image processing techniques that focus on basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication.  

The exhibit is sponsored by SunTrust.