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The Prix Ars Electronica Archive is a collection enabling search and viewing of all the submissions since 1987. The award-winning projects are documented with catalogue texts and audio-visual media. All other submissions can be searched by title/artist and displayed with year, category in list form. Please cite the credits (artwork name, artist and photographer) and only use the materials if your article is related to Ars Electronica.
reactable
Sergi Jordà,
Günter Geiger,
Marcos Alonso,
Music Technology Group/ Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona,
Martin Kaltenbrunner
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The “reactable“ was intended to be a right-brained musical instrument for multi-user electronic music performance. It should be attractive, intuitive, non-intimidating, and suitable for everyone from children to professional musicians who can start playing from the first minute. Creating can be fun, but we did not want to conceive a sound toy. Whereas many sound installations might be little more than expensive toys that become boring and predictable after a few minutes, we wanted to create something more challenging and complex, like a traditional music instrument, something capable of rewarding effort and time spent to master it.
The “reactable“ has a tangible, visually compelling and intuitive user interface, which makes music visible and almost graspable. The instrument should also support collaboration among various players. It is based on a luminous round table and can be played simultaneously by several performers, who can move, rotate and relate glowing acrylic objects that represent the building blocks of electronic music combined with a tangible, flowcontrolled programming language.
Following its popularity, boosted by YouTube at the beginning of 2007, during the last year the “reactable“ has been shown in 80 locations in 25 countries, in Europe, Asia and America. It has been adopted by professional musicians such as Björk, who has been using the “reactable“ extensively during her current world tour. The “reactable“ has also been acquired by various international art and science museums for permanent exhibitions.
The “reactable“ has a tangible, visually compelling and intuitive user interface, which makes music visible and almost graspable. The instrument should also support collaboration among various players. It is based on a luminous round table and can be played simultaneously by several performers, who can move, rotate and relate glowing acrylic objects that represent the building blocks of electronic music combined with a tangible, flowcontrolled programming language.
Following its popularity, boosted by YouTube at the beginning of 2007, during the last year the “reactable“ has been shown in 80 locations in 25 countries, in Europe, Asia and America. It has been adopted by professional musicians such as Björk, who has been using the “reactable“ extensively during her current world tour. The “reactable“ has also been acquired by various international art and science museums for permanent exhibitions.
Sergi Jordà (ES) holds a PhD in Computer Science and Digital Communication from the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona. He is the coordinator of the Interactive Systems area inside the Music Technology Group of the Audiovisual Institute, and associate professor at the university.
Günter Geiger (AT) is a researcher at the MTG, he has graduated in 1997 at the Technical University Graz, Austria. His main research interests are interactive systems and Computer music Software on portable devices. He is currently writing his doctorate thesis on Computer music systems at the UPF. From the early beginnings he was involved in the development of the Pure Data Computer music system.
Martin Kaltenbrunner (AT) is a researcher and PhD candidate working in the Music Technology Group at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain. His research covers the exploration of natural forms of human-computer interaction with the design of tangible, auditory and mobile user interfaces.
Marcos Alonso (ES) is the team's graphic designer and the man behind the graphics engine of the "reactable". His further work includes a plug-in for the integration of pure-data (PD) into a web browser.
Günter Geiger (AT) is a researcher at the MTG, he has graduated in 1997 at the Technical University Graz, Austria. His main research interests are interactive systems and Computer music Software on portable devices. He is currently writing his doctorate thesis on Computer music systems at the UPF. From the early beginnings he was involved in the development of the Pure Data Computer music system.
Martin Kaltenbrunner (AT) is a researcher and PhD candidate working in the Music Technology Group at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain. His research covers the exploration of natural forms of human-computer interaction with the design of tangible, auditory and mobile user interfaces.
Marcos Alonso (ES) is the team's graphic designer and the man behind the graphics engine of the "reactable". His further work includes a plug-in for the integration of pure-data (PD) into a web browser.