Adaptive Use Musical Instruments enable students who have very little voluntary mobility or other varieties of impairments to create and perform electronic sounds and sequences in order to participate in solo and ensemble electronic music improvisation and composition.
An original member of the AUMIPC team, programmer Zane van Duzen, developed an initial computer program that enables students with very little mobility (head turning only) to generate musical rhythms and scalar patterns. The program incorporates camera tracking so that no invasive devices are necessary. Their improvised movements enables the students to create rhythmic patterns and to communicate with others musically in the drum class led by therapist Leaf Miller of First Abilities, Inc. Additionally, a virtual keyboard is played with lateral head movement along the virtual keys to create scalar melodies.
The computer program has been expanded, updated and improved using information from Miller in collaboration with programmer Zevin Polzin. Each session with the students yielded new information and improvement in their participation.
The Adaptive Use interface program will continue to be revised and improved with input from the technologists, students and therapists and feedback from registered users. Infra red cameras will replace the current models. Robot controlled instruments that the students can play will be developed.