Abstract: An overview of BigEye, developed at STEIM, Europe's leading research centre for the development of interactive performance instruments. BigEye analyses a video signal in realtime and maps the resulting data to MIDI. Thus it become possible, for example, to follow an individual colour as it moves through a space, and control any MIDI-equipped software or device with that motion. Functions such as x, y, acceleration, size, speed, relative x and relative y are available through BigEye's own scripting language
The paper also presents a contextual overview of other motion-sensing systems, including other video-based/software solutions, hardware sensing systems (such as that developed at the CNUCE/CNR in Pisa, Italy), and wireless body suit systems such as the MidiDancer, developed by Mark Coniglio of troika ranch in New York.
Keywords: multimedia, performance, programming, interactive composition, digital video
Acknowledgments
parts of this paper were first published in the Proceedings to the 1997 Art & Technology Symposium, Connecticut College, New London, Connecticut, USA.