Media lab & cybernetic serendipity: Communicating science through responsive installations

We are interested to incorporate the digital instrument such as a musical controller within the syllabus of Basic measurements in physics. We have also briefly described the impressive instruments such as the Sensor Chair, Expressive foot and Digital Baton that have been developed by MIT Media Lab and used in impressive installations such as the Opera Brain. The architecture of those devices and underlining concepts of physics behind multi-sensory and multi-model systems, with artistic expression as motivation, should be an inspiration for any creative teacher to analyze them in class. In the tangible world of electronics, the computing science, physical computing and science of sounds and gesture through sensing the electric field are all beautifully choreographed and synthesized into harmony of cybernetic art. They taught us that chances and possibilities for connecting the uncorrelated things are enormous as well as it is the context into which we place our teaching. We also show the 3D Pocket LED Cube that we prototyped, and we analyzed possible interfaces of it in order to build a music controller. The LED Cube is chosen since its construction and building the electric circuits allow us to build rich learning environment, particularly when bigger size of Cubes is considered. We also analyzed the options how to use 3D LED Cubes as “performance of philosophy, metaphysics” and “cybernetic” art. The possibilities are limited only by limits of “human imagination”.