AirPiano - Interface Controller for Ableton Live

Omer Yosha, an Interface Design student at the FH Potsdam has designed a new polyphonic MIDI controlling device, he calls the “AirPiano,” that enables DJs to spin without touching a thing. The new technology uses infrared sensors that can be programmed to link to a variety of music applications. Check out the video below, showing the Airpiano controlling Ableton Live. Here’s how it works: the AirPiano is controlled through a virtual matrix in the air above it. Each key and fader in the virtual matrix is assigned a note or controller, channel, and velocity via the USB-connected AirPiano software. When a key or fader is triggered (by waving one’s hand over the infrared sensors), an LED beneath the AirPiano’s surface illuminates and the note is played. Not only is the AirPiano impressively practical, though. Its sleek, narrow frame makes us think it may very well become an alternative to rolling around a closet-full of equipment.

This technology may indeed have a promising future. “The AirPiano is only one example of an application that could adopt this concept,” says Omer. That’s right, think AirOrchestra. Omer describes the AirPiano as “useful for DJ performance, as a music therapy instrument, or as a toy.”

Check it out: