IndexTech Lab / 2024

Sónar+D

Sinapsis

Sónar+D · Barcelona · 2024

Role
Interaction Designer & Creative Technologist
Year
2024
FESTIVAL
Sónar+D
Discipline
Tech Lab

THE WORK

A gestural instrument where the image is made physically, not rendered

Three stations, each with a Leap Motion sensor reading hand position, distance and finger shape. That data drives an LED ring and triggers sound; the sound plays through a speaker mounted beneath a petri dish of water, and the vibration draws cymatic patterns across the surface. A DSLR overhead films the dish live and feeds a monitor in front of you. Move your hand and the picture changes — but it travels through light and water before it reaches the screen. The mechanism was left visible: people around the piece could look into the dishes and watch it work.

Built by four of us during the master's at BAU. Concept, interaction design, physical rig and build. Selected and exhibited live in the Global Lab section of the Sónar+D 2024 Project Area at Fira Montjuïc.

Audiovisual Sanctuary & Sensory Isolation

Designed to function as a tranquil, immersive audiovisual sanctuary amidst the intense and chaotic sensory stimuli of the Sónar festival, SINAPSIS positions participants inside a profoundly intimate feedback loop. The installation features three precise, physical interaction nodes designed to operate simultaneously. The physical geometry of each node is intentionally calibrated to capture a participant's complete cognitive focus, wrapping them in a deep sense of personal isolation even while sharing the physical space with others.

Audiovisual sanctuary and sensory isolation

Ergonomics, Kinematics & Posture

The structural hardware features a highly specific ergonomic configuration requiring participants to place both their hands and their head directly inside the machine. As users execute subtle hand movements and kinetic gestures over sensitive tracking plates, a custom-coded computational engine instantly processes the data. This direct, low-latency communication loop maps human kinetics immediately into fluid, real-time visual projections and evolving, spatialized audio soundscapes.

The Central Totem Network & Material Prototyping

Despite the deep sensory isolation experienced within the individual nodes, all three stations are hardwired and systematically linked behind the scenes through a prominent physical central totem. This structural core acts as the primary computational processing hub where isolated behavioral streams collide, transforming independent inputs into a singular, interconnected collective ecosystem.

The central totem network and material prototyping

Selected and exhibited live in the Global Lab section of the Sónar+D 2024 Project Area at Fira Montjuïc (June 13–15)

Developed by an alumni team from the Master in Audiovisual Innovation and Interactive Environments alongside the Audiovisual Design track

Engineered a stable multi-input communication framework that processed concurrent live gesture data without latency

// TEAM

  • Fabricio Atahualpa
  • Gonzalo Antonio Cortez
  • Nicolás Vásquez
  • Rubén Sanchez