John Arroyo: Eingen Rhythm Software
Using machine learning statistical analysis a rhythmic synthesizer
was created. It is a rhythm composer of sorts that is trained instead
of user programmed. The end result is an intelligent groove box where
interpolations of the seed rhythms are possible to generate in real-
time. Each of the seed rhythms is automatically extracted and
projected into a space, the user can then move around in this space
and morph one rhythm into the next. More intelligent instruments are
on the drawing board...moving towards a new paradigm in music
software synthesis.
http://www.rhythmicresearch.com

Jeff Han: Multi-Touch Interaction Research
While touch sensing is commonplace for single points of contact,
multi-touch systems enables a user to interact with a system with
more than one finger at a time, allowing for the use of both hands
along with chording gestures. These kinds of interactions hold
tremendous potential for advances in efficiency, usability, and
intuitiveness. Multi-touch systems are inherently also able to
accommodate multiple users simultaneously, which is especially useful
for collaborative scenarios such as interactive walls and tabletops.
We've developed a new multi-touch sensing technique that's
unprecedented in precision and scalability, and I will be
demonstrating some of our latest research on the new sorts of
interaction techniques that are now possible.
http://mrl.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch

John Huntington: Synchronizing Live Performance with Musical Time
Modern entertainment and show control systems run in many different
ways, but are often used in a linear mode, where all the elements of
a show are locked to a fixed time base (and the time base is often
linked to some linear media). For example, a prerecorded video might
be played in a live show, and lighting and sound cues might then be
programmed to trigger at precise times, down to the video frame. This
approach is cost-effective and relatively easy to program, but, of
course, the actors, dancers, musicians and other performers have to
synchronize themselves to this pre-determined, rigid clock structure,
and this severely limits the performance. Even with those
limitations, however the majority of media-synchronized live shows
today sacrifice flexibility in order to gain precision and control,
and execute all lighting, video and other cues from a rigid clock.
Professor John Huntington and Dr. David B. Smith, colleagues at NYC
College of Technology's Entertainment Technology department, believe
that that the technology should track the performers, not the other
way around, and this is the focus of our research into the use of
Musical Time as a synchronization source. Music runs on "musical" or
"metric" time, where the musician or conductor has total control over
the tempo, down to a beat level. Unlike linear time, Musical Time can
slow down or speed up, allowing the music to respond to the actions
of singers and other performers.