Analogous to real windchimes which produce acoustic tones as they sway in the wind, the intelliChime is an ambient display that generates electronic sounds with the movements of passing people. In this way, the project attributes a recognizable personality to an electronic artifact and explores the dynamics of human-machine interactions that such personalities can produce.
When people approach the windchime theyare detected by one of threemotion detectors and become the “wind” that sets the hammer in motion. This hammer is attached to a motor that can adjust its speed depending on the number and location of people in the room.
Whenever the hammer comes in contact with one of the cylindrical chimes, an embedded Hall-effect sensor detects the collision and a unique midi-tone is generated on the attached computer. The pitch, timbre, velocity and other characteristics of the midi-tone vary as the environmental conditions around the windchime change.
 IntelliChime Motor |
 IntelliChime Circuitry
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