Gesture Controls for the Artistically Inclined, Built for $50

Even with the affordable price-points of the PlayStation Move and Xbox Kinect, gesture-based technology stills feels like it’s a bit on the expensive side. Both systems require a console, after all. What if we could accomplish the same goals with a cheap, untethered device? That’s the goal behind the Toscanini Gestural Interface, a motion control interface in development primarily for musicians and dancers. With $50 of off-the-shelf hardware, two hackers built Toscanini during a 24 hour hack-a-thon.

eZ430 Chronos Wireless Watch Development Tool which sells for a mere $49. The watch contains a pressure sensor, 3-axis accelerometer and a wireless interface. By plugging the wireless dongle into a computer and programming gesture-based software using Max/MSP the creators have successfully interfaced with music software. Gestures picked up by the watch translate to MIDI keyboard movements, but that’s just its first implementation. The device can easily control a mouse and gestures can be recorded as macros to perform specific actions.

Toscanini’s creators want to see their product put to work at a dance company, and are considering building an entire platform and app library around the $50 system. But they’re staying true to their hacker roots: the software is free for anyone to download and play with.