Finally got word back from product designer Ragnhild Haugum on prototyping possibilities. I called her a while back asking for input on how to build the actual sculpture. Options are casting from a mold, or machining it. I’m considering carbon fiber as my main material. She also suggested I spray paint the model with acrylic enamel car paint.
Next step is to get some input on pricing from possible suppliers of this technology:

http://www.eker.no

http://www.minoko.no

http://protolab.no

http://www.modellverkstedet.no

Today I finished programming the application. Once I get the headset I will probably make a few adjustments. The next phase now is to apply for funding the actual installation. I will make a few more 3d renderings of the conch and post them here as I go.

Had a meeting with artist Kenneth Langaas today. My former art teacher and friend Lars Pålgaard recommended him since I was looking to produce the conch as cheap as possible, perhaps even in China, and he gave me a few good connections I will follow up. He also gave me some valuable feedback regarding the project itself. Since I have been uncertain as to how quickly the avarage user can acquire sufficient skills to use the conch, I had originally planned to use it mainly in performances myself. Kenneth reminded me of the potential success in the project if the audiences could interact for themselves. Looking at me controlling the sound might be a somewhat dull experience, and requires the musical aspect to be an artistic experience in and of itself. I have now started programming a short training interface that can get the avarage user up to speed in less than a minute.

Today my brother told me about a similar project, from a few years back, that I ought to check out. The project, “Feelings” (2003) was an interesting affair. Composer Robert Wallin and artist and programmer Simen Svale Skogsrud had made a piece where the audience of a short video wore a simple EEG sensor while watching. The readings from the sensors were used to compose music using Wallins unique fractal formula. The audience could after the viewing ask to have their “personal soundtrack” burned to a CD.
“Feelings” (2003) [article in Norwegian]

Here is a video of the headset in action from Fora.tv. CEO Tan Le and her colleague demonstrate how quickly you can train your cognitive ations. Since I have done all my programming this far with an emulator, this footage is reassuring to see. I am looking forward to receiving the headset in the mail, though there seems to be some more delays due to a typhoon is South-East Asia.

I’ll be starting my project today. I’ve been researching open source C++ libraries to include in my application. Looks like I’ll be using STK (the Synthesis ToolKit from Stanford) for the synthesizer; IrrKlang for audio playback; SDL for graphics, timers and multithreading; and Boost for filehandling. Looking forward to piecing this thing together. Since most of my programming experience is from Actionscripting and Processing, C++ is a daunting task to engage upon.