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Archive 2017: Controlling Virtual Musical Instruments with Hand Gestures

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Archive 2017: Controlling Virtual Musical Instruments with Hand Gestures

Do things that don't scale.

— Paul Graham

Playing virtual musical instruments using only hand gestures — no controllers, no physical contact. A Leap Motion sensor tracks the hands in 3D space and maps their position and movement directly to musical parameters.

Approach

The instruments are modelled and animated in Cinema4D, then built as interactive objects in Unity. The Leap Motion controller provides millimetre-accurate finger and hand tracking, allowing expressive playing technique in a fully virtual space. Sound is routed through Logic Pro for recording and production.

Tools

  • Unity
  • Leap Motion
  • Logic Pro
  • Cinema4D