Eletronik Fields

An audiovisual system that converts electromagnetic fields into MIDI, music and real-time visuals. Tools: magnetic induction coil, audio recorder, Max, Ableton Live and Hydra.js. I made it in 2022 in the Sonic Arts course (Artes Sónicas) at Universidade Lusófona, in Lisbon, taught by Adriana Sá.

Signal chain

Capture: a magnetic induction coil connected to an audio recorder picks up electromagnetic fields as an audio signal.
Analysis: Max runs FFT analysis on that signal and converts it into MIDI.
Sound: Ableton Live receives the MIDI and generates the music.
Image: Hydra.js generates visuals that react to the same signal in real time.

Field research

Before building the installation, I walked the streets with the coil and the recorder, capturing as many types of electromagnetic field as I could find, to learn how each source behaves through the chain. The survey showed which sources worked best as material: chargers, mobile phones, lights, UPS units and other powered equipment. The recordings from this stage, processed by the system, are the material of the video above.

Installation

The installation was set up in a dark room at Universidade Lusófona, as part of the course. The equipment identified in the field research — chargers, phones, lights, UPS units — was arranged on a table, and the coil was left free for visitors to use. Bringing the coil close to a device changes the captured signal, and the system turns that change into sound and projected visuals in real time. The projection faces the person holding the coil, so the result of each movement is immediate. Visitors could also test the coil on their own phones and on the room’s lights.