Sonic Exploration
An interactive sound installation using electromagnetic field sonification, exploring how we perceive and become aware of invisible forces through sound.
Type: Responsive Environments Lab installation | Timeline: 14 weeks | Team: Solo | Status: Fully functional installation
Technologies: Arduino + electromagnetic sensors, Pure Data (Pd) signal processing, 20 speaker arrays, IR/RF proximity detection
The Question
We live surrounded by electromagnetic fields—from power lines to wireless networks to our own bodies. But we're blind to them. Meanwhile, sound makes the invisible audible. What happens if we sonify these hidden electromagnetic presences? Can we create awareness and wonder about the energy landscape we inhabit?
The Installation
Visitors stand in a space with embedded sensors that detect electromagnetic fields and nearby presence. As they move, their proximity and the ambient EM fields are translated into evolving soundscapes. The installation has 3 evolution phases:
Phase 1: Silent Visualization - Ambient EM fields create soft, minimal tones. Visitors see projection visualizations but can't see the source.
Phase 2: Interactive Response - As visitors move, IR/RF sensors detect proximity. Sound and visuals respond to their position and movement patterns.
Phase 3: Collective Soundscape - Multiple visitors create interference patterns. The sound becomes a record of everyone's presence and movement interactions.
Technical Implementation
Hardware: Distributed EM field sensors (10 units), IR/RF proximity sensors, Arduino signal aggregation, 20 speaker array with custom DSP
Software: Real-time processing in Pure Data, frequency mapping algorithms, spatial audio synthesis, gesture recognition for movement patterns
detectable frequency range
sensor to audio output
fully reactive space
Process & Iteration
Weeks 1-3: Early prototypes produced uncontrolled noise. Sensors were too sensitive to power-line interference.
Week 4 Pivot: Implemented harmonic filtering to isolate meaningful EM fluctuations from noise. Discovered that filtered data created surprisingly musical tones.
Weeks 5-8: Built frequency mapping: different EM bands = different instrument families. Low frequency fields → bass. High frequency → cymbals/texture.
Weeks 9-11: Added proximity sensing. Initial version was intrusive. Redesigned interaction to be subtly responsive—visitors shouldn't feel watched.
Weeks 12-14: Gallery testing with 50+ visitors. Feedback: people spent 5-15 minutes exploring. Most didn't realize their own presence was shaping the sound. Perfect.
Outcome & Reflection
The installation successfully made the invisible visible (audible). Visitor responses included:
- Heightened awareness of energy and presence in physical spaces
- Surprising emotional responses to EM field patterns
- Spontaneous collaborative behavior (visitors found ways to create harmonic patterns together)
Key Learning: People naturally assume complexity in sound equals technological sophistication. In reality, we filtered 99% of the data to make 1% listenable. Sometimes less data = more meaning.
Future Iterations: Explore what EM patterns reveal about building infrastructure, add data visualization so visitors see what they're hearing, create portable version for other venues.
Gallery
Installation photos, sensor placement diagrams, visitor interaction moments, and sound visualization recordings