About our interactive technology

Sentire is a sound-based body-machine interface that transforms physical interaction between people into sound. Sentire uses a sensor that can detect proximity and touch between people, transforming it into sound through an effectively intuitive mapping. The Sentire software is written in Supercollider and it is multi-platform.

Sentire has been conceived on the premises of the embodied cognition paradigm, because it

allows the user to experience not only a coupling of action and perception, but also the interaction between different users and their spatial and sound experience. We apply and constantly develop a method of interpersonal interaction, allowing to extend the multimodal sensory experience of the user.

Motivation

Many sentire users have been interviewed after their experience and  reported  increased awareness of the body and of movement (“My senses awoke”), increased concentration and focus (“this is about what is happening here and now”), and feeling responsive and connected with the other (“You try to tune to the other person, to coexist with the sound and the partner”). We see a big potential of Sentire to be helpful for stress prevention, reduction, management, and for other issues related to the lack of awareness of one’s body, movement, and the environment.

Goals and Methods

The goal is to further develop an innovative, intuitive, and adaptable system and method of interaction to be used in arts, therapy, and edutainment. We have been carrying on a cross-disciplinary research on human perception aiming at studying the experience of the users from different approaches (somatic, therapeutic, neuroscientific); on the one hand, in the area of HCI research, and on the other hand, an experimental and real-world interaction research.

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

  • To design sound mapping, converting touch, and proximity into sound, considering various types of interaction possibilities.
  • Creating a Wireless device that allows more freedom of movement
  • A multiperson device, recognising more persons interacting and possibly group dynamics.
  • Adding machine learning processes to make the whole experience more rich and enjoyable
  • a user-friendly graphical interface

Interaction Studies

  • We want to discover the potential of Sentire in actual situations. That is why we are working using a Real-World research method, involving different experts in the fields of music therapy, movement therapy, somatic practices, dance, and biomechanics.
  • The field of therapy is particularly interesting for us, because it is where we imagine Sentire to be mostly valuable.
  • Being Sentire a somatic experience, it changes the relationship with our perception, body, and mind – and their interplay. This is why we have been using a micro-phenomenological method and we are also taking into consideration doing fMRI scanning.

PhD

The PhD. work of Marcello Lussana is about the design and analysis of Sentire, understanding how this system can increase awareness of body perception and body movement. In order to discover how the participants are actually experiencing Sentire, a phenomenological interview method called micro-phenomenology has been used: this can uncover unconscious aspects of the experience and how this unfolds. The design of the system is based on the premises of the embodied cognition theories, creating an environment that allows the body to express spontaneously. The so-called Mapping, i.e. how we connect the measured data to sound generation, is the core of this study, understanding what the possible options and effects are in a system such as Sentire. This PhD. research is carried out at the Humboldt univerisity of Berlin, at the department of Musicology, under the supervision of Jun.-Prof. Dr. Jin Hyun Kim (Humbodlt university of Berlin) and Prof. Dr. phil. Alberto de Campo (University of Arts Berlin).