MIDI Controller Monkey

MIDI Controller Monkey
Peter Kim | Make Vol. 08- 2006 | Pdf | 4 pgs | 1 mb

Who said input devices have to be hard and mechanical? Here's one that's as soft, bendable, and easy to play with as a plush toy. In my MIDI primer (MAKE. Volume 07, page 158. "MIDI Control"), we saw how to use the MIDI data specification, originally designed for music, to interconnect both musical and non-musical hardware and software. Now, we'll use this approach to construct a sock monkey instrument you can use to control visuals and sound.

The monkey has flex sensors sewn into its limbs, and it wears a sensor interface board as a backpack. The sensors detect the monkey's movements, and the board converts the readings into MIDI data. This lets the monkey conduct audio-visual symphonies and perform other MIDI magic.

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