Haptic communication and colocated performance.

How can experimental computer-mediated performance attain the very high levels of interpersonal intimacy and temporal intensity attained over millennia of artistic evolution involving traditional analog instruments and affordances? Current practice is lamentably missing key components of a hypothetical possibility space combining enhanced sensory perception with embodied skills inherited from traditional art forms. This presentation examines the development of the “Vibrobyte,” a small inexpensive wireless interface for the exploration of haptic communication in computer mediated and colocated performance. The Vibrobyte was developed through a research seminar at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is in its first stages of artistic application. We will present the technical capabilities of the new device and examples of its first applications. Future possibilities and plans for large-scale musical compositions incorporating the Vibrobyte will be introduced.