Sony’s ‘Motion Sonic’ generates musical effects based on physical movement

The Japanese firm has launched a crowdfunding campaign for its device that is designed for musicians, DJs and other performers to help them expand their creative reach with electronic musical instruments.

June 01, 2021 06:36 pm | Updated 06:50 pm IST

Sound delays in sync with moving arm up and down. | Picture by special arrangement.

Sound delays in sync with moving arm up and down. | Picture by special arrangement.

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Visualise a wearable device that can change the sound of electronic musical instruments based on a performer’s physical movement. Sony has turned this imagination into reality with its new gesture-based musical effect generator, ‘Motion Sonic’.

The Japanese firm has launched a crowdfunding campaign for its device that is designed for musicians, DJs and other performers to help them expand their creative reach with electronic musical instruments.

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“The effects generator was developed with the goal of enabling sound manipulation with body movement and adds a vibrant new creative dimension to performers' repertoires,” Sony Corporation said in a statement.

The small device can be worn on the wrist or hand depending on the instrument they are playing. With the sensor in place, when a performer gestures with their hand, the sound will change in pitch, vibrato or modulation, depending on the specific movement. In the same way, when a DJ wearing Motion Sonic raises then lowers their hand, a delay is added to the music output.

The device consists of a wearable motion sensor and an accompanying smartphone application. The sensor detects the wearer's movement then transfers it to the smartphone app via Bluetooth. The app then connects to the instrument via a compatible audio interface, actualising the desired sound effects.

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The Japanese firm said it is seeking feedback from prospective customers during the crowdfunding period, and it will make product enhancements based on feedback prior to release.

Motion Sonic will be available in the U.S. and Japan on the iOS platform. The company has not provided details on the device’s availability in other regions, as well as compatibility with Android. The early bird pricing of the device for the first 400 customers is 23,900 yen (about ₹15,900) and will be available afterwards for 27,200 yen (about ₹18,000), the company said.

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