“Tornado´s are magnificent. Wouldn’t it be great if you can create one with your hands?”  
 

Sonic Tornado is an instrument in-the-making that brings forward audiovisual
forces that produce light, sound and animation.
Sonic Tornado´s algorithm is based on the innerworkings of reallife Tornado´s.
transformed to parameters that can be controlled through custom-made functionality.
Users can interactively control Sonic Tornado by moving their hands and fingers.
By recognising handmovent, each hand and each finger can be used to control diffrent sequences of light, animations and sounds.

 
 
Sonic Tornado took inspiration from the classic Theremin: an electronic musical instrument invented in 1928 by Leon Theremin, that can be controlled without physical contact.
The instrument's controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the
thereminist's hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other.Sonic Tornado evokes a chaotic twirling mass that generates light, sound and animations and lets its users play with supernatural powers, in an audiovisual universe where there forces are under their control. Intense swirling of movement and quadraphonic sound increases over time and gains intensity when set in motion.
The tornado can be played like an instrument, using only your hands, creating an explosive “big bang” of audio visual forces.
Collaboration with MIT & TU
Research and development of the algorithm:
For this installation, the plan is to create algorithms based on 3 dimensional motion models
of Tornadoes. How they move, how they gain or lose power within a specific time and space.
How they play with light and what external changes they are subject to.
Prior to developing experimental functionality which will affect the audiovisual output
applied, this functionality is based on Professor's research
Bjorn Baumeier, affiliated to TU Eindhoven, Department of Mathematical Sciences.
With the aim of converting tornado data into algorithms and being able to do so in a practical way apply as parameters within the interactive environment.
The goal is to eradicate these natural forces that arise from a natural phenomenon, the tornado set to experimental functionality that can be operated in an interactive way that makes it unique compositions arise.
The next step is to then apply it in the software and hardware, and determine how it
algorithms can be made visible and audible in functionality.
So that under the influence of movement and speed, a real-time instrument can be created.

https://www.climatecolab.org/
http://weatherclimatelab.mit.edu
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 

For this project, we have planned the following developments based on the first
prototype for further developed installation:
Central to Sonic Tornado's development is the following question:
How can the narrative and mechanics of an interactive installation be evolved by becoming informed
multiplied by external sources of real-time data?


Goals Sonic Tornado:
- Bring together interaction, instrument and audio in installation
- Spatilisation of image and sound.
- Develop unconventional composition model for synchronized audio and animation.
- Let algorithm be determined by natural force phenomenon
- Apply data from natural power to audiovisual material in interactive installation
- Experimental approach of AV experience for audiences, where they themselves through interaction
influence the compositions.
-Development of Tornado algorithm and parameters
-Development of Custom made soft and hardware
-Cooperation with musician, sound production for Sonic Tornado
-Develop multiple methods to be able to compose in an interactive way
-Multiple test sessions of the installation with the public to test interaction principles.
Based on these test sessions, the further development of the interaction tools will be developed