ChanceOperator
A system that induces non-self-initiated playing movements by electrical muscle stimulation and examines improvisers' responses and preparation
- Period
- 2024–2025
- Field
- Electrical muscle stimulation / improvisation / HCI
- Role
- First author; design and implementation
Summary
A system that involuntarily moves the fingers and elbow of a performer improvising over a looped audio track by electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), producing playing at timings the performer did not initiate.
A preliminary study examined the performer's experience and behavioral strategies in responding to the stimulation after the fact; presented orally at the 10th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Ecological Psychology (2026).
Specifications
- Hardware
- Custom 3-channel EMS circuit (Push / Release / Jump)
- Instruments
- Ableton Push 2, AKAI LPD8
- Software
- Ableton Live, SuperCollider, Python
Operation
- Input
- Track tempo; triggers at random timing
- Output
- EMS bursts induce finger press, release, and elbow flexion, operating audio effects
- Intervention strength
- Continuously adjustable by the performer
- Safety
- The unstimulated hand can stop stimulation immediately and return to manual playing
Figures
Videos
Outputs
- Musicians' experiences and behavioral strategies when improvising with body-actuation technology: a preliminary study — Japanese Society for Ecological Psychology, 10th Annual Meeting (reviewed)