Discovering sound through physical and digital play.
Project Brief
Project Overview
Primary Research
Initial brief
To design an interactive exhibit which is both physical and digital and that represents any form of unit for a science gallery where the exhibit should engage a wide age group, from 8 to 99 years, and be self-explanatory, intuitive, and easy to understand, enabling users to grasp the chosen concept through guidance, exploration and interaction.
Soundscape is an interactive exhibit that helps people explore sound and understand frequency, measured in Hertz (Hz), through a combination of physical and digital interactions.
Specific brief
To design an interactive exhibit that is both physical and digital, representing Sound as a domain and Frequency-Hertz as its unit, for a science gallery. The exhibit should engage a broad age range from 8 to 99 years, and be self-explanatory, intuitive, and easy to understand in terms of identifying high and low frequencies. It should enable users to grasp the concept especially children through guidance, exploration, and interaction, including basic instructions and games.
The visit to the Indian Music Experience Museum aimed to analyze interactive music exhibits. We explored how interactions engage visitors and encourage learning through sensory experiences and play. This research identified effective patterns to make sound concepts more accessible.
Visit to the Indian Music Experience
Academic | Semester 1 | Phygital
At a glance
Conceptualisation
Objective:
To guide and educate users especially children (ages 8 and above) by demonstrating the fundamental principles of pitch (frequency) through visual and auditory functions, while keeping it engaging.
The Concept
The Soundscape is an interactive exhibit that helps people understand sound and frequency unit -Hertz (Hz), through a combined physical and digital experience.
Frequency: The screen immediately shows the frequency range (pitch) of the note in Hertz (Hz) and visualises the corresponding sound wave.
Digital Output (Real-time Visualisation): The data is instantly sent to an adjacent digital screen, which provides clear, observable feedback.
Physical Input (Mallet Strike): When a participant hits a bar, an internal sensor system registers the specific note played.
The exhibit features a musical instrument that users interact with using mallets.
Sound Frequency
Unit: Hertz (Hz)
Why Mallet Percussion
A mallet percussion instrument is ideal for explaining sound vibrations and frequency variations because each bar produces a distinct pitch when struck.
Frequency means how fast something vibrates.
The vibrating bars clearly show how sound is formed through movement. Longer bars vibrate slower to produce low frequencies, while shorter bars vibrate faster, creating higher frequencies.
The Instrument and Set up
Soundwave xylophone
The set up
The experience
Dimensions
The target height for the exhibit table is 28 to 30 inches (71 to 76 cm). This height is optimised for the ergonomics of an 8-year-old while remaining entirely functional and comfortable for seated or moderately leaning adults.
For Maximum Accessibility:
Adjustable-height stools for seated engagement.
To ensure a minimum of 27 inches (68 cm) of clear space beneath the table to allow for wheelchair access.
Mechanism
The mechanism uses a Piezoelectric Sensor under each bar. When struck, it generates an electrical pulse detected by a Microcontroller, translating it into a MIDI Note ON message. This data is sent via Bluetooth to a Tablet Application, which verifies the frequency and triggers visual feedback or game assessment.
Digital experience Ideation
Match the frequency
Planning the Screens
Your Sound Journey Starts Here
Sound Science
Test your ear
Make your tune
Learn
Match
Jam
To guide participants through the learning process and maximise engagement with the instrument, the experience is structured into a three-step journey:
Learn, Match, and Jam.
After the learning task the users can test their sound knowledge through a fun “Match the Frequency” challenge, identifying and recreating tones to learn through play.
Match- Frequency game
Visitors can compose their own tune on the xylophone and then reimagine it through other instruments like piano or drums. They can listen to their tune and even download their musical creation as a personalised takeaway souvenir.
Soundscape Interactive Screens
The Game - Match
Jam - Make your own Music
Introducing simple sound theory to help users grasp the basics of sound waves and frequencies in an engaging way.
Understanding ‘High’ and ‘Low’ frequencies with spontaneous feedback and examples.
High Frequency
Low Frequency
Learn - Sound science
Soundscape Instrument Making
We experimented with various metals such as aluminium, mild steel, and stainless steel to study their acoustic response. Among them, stainless steel produced the most distinct and consistent frequencies for each bar.
Inference
Since the mechanism incorporates a piezo sensor and the project’s objective is to create an interactive experience where users can both feel and visualise music, the final model will be designed using rubber like material (elastomers) or any other material that doesn’t affect the other exhibits, instead of metal. This material allows better user safety, and seamless integration with the digital feedback system.
Frequency Range
Length in cm
25
Frequency in Hertz
23
21
20
18
16
15
2000
1807
1449
1162
932
748
600
Cut Metal pieces
Drilling holes and Buffing
Instrument stand
Instrument pieces
Wood cutting
Painting
Washer and tiny pieces
Screwing and nailing
Product Shoot
My Contribution
Initial Conceptualisation
Complete UI Screens and Illustartions
Certain parts of making
