Pop-Sci Core77 Design Challenge/ Description MEMORY 7/16/03

Description of Design

At the most basic level, music is a sound that is repeated in time to form a pattern. Human experience has a very complex patterning, yet patterns do exist in all of our lives. These patterns are reflected in our emotional lives as well. Our emotional lives remain to be the most elusive for retention by the memory, and the most easily mutable over time. By taking advantage of novel technologies and computational algorithms, it is possible to take the unique opportunity to translate the patterns of the human emotional life into music – and because no two persons’ life is the same, no two songs will ever be the same. The Memory Bracelet is a device that measures the Skin Conductive Response (SCR) and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) and uses the processed data as seeds in a generative music algorithm to generate a unique piece of music based on the users’ emotional experience over time. The form factor is that of a bracelet, made of titanium and copper. Copper patinas over time making the bracelet a personalized treasure to the owner while the titanium shell gives it the strength and robustness to become a family heirloom. There are two copper electrode sensors in the side of the bracelet which measure the SCR and GSR of the skin. These two measurements are directly related to the emotional state of a person at all times, and are highly sensitive (www-white.media.mit.edu). The Memory Bracelet records the SCR and GSR every 5 seconds and stores the data in a holographic hard drive which has a storage capacity to hold all the compressed data for a users’ lifetime. The data is then processed by an exponential moving average to determine a seed value for the generative music algorithm which is based on a 12 tone scale, the key of which is determined by the users’ baseline SCR (historical average).The music is then output to a speaker within the Bracelet or uploaded to another device via Bluetooth. The raw data can also be uploaded at any time for mining purposes. The power of the Memory Bracelet is in its implications. The user has direct feedback on their own emotional state in real-time or historically. The user can share this music with friends or family members and with new people (two strangers meet and play their songs simultaneously; if they are lucky they literally "make beautiful music together). Taken to a macro level, the internet can host online communities that upload their data and broadcast "Cultural Symphonies of emotional memory". A user would gain a unique perspective on their lives as they find patterns in their emotional lives they never knew existed, and connect them to events they never knew were linked. Such is the power of feedback. The user may even find themselves altering their lives to make sweeter music, turning on its head the question "Does art imitate life?"