Strictly speaking this is an arduino based project, but I used processing to handle the incoming data and create the visuals. I built a small device consisting of an ultrasonic distance sensor attached to a rotating assembly - which when switched on would scan a room and produce a 2-dimensional map of the space the device is placed in. The distance data was sent to processing in order to generate a kind of graphic score, and also via OSC to pure data which would then synthesize responsive audio in realtime.

Here are some images of the project installed:




Also you can watch a video of the project on vimeo here: http://vimeo.com/12763642

There were a few things I could do with improving the work, so let's hope for a 3.0! Initially I had a bit of trouble as the motor would not exactly correspond to the visuals after running for an hour or so. I was thinking about a foolproof way of keeping the visuals in sync with the rotation of the motor, so perhaps a hall-effect sensor (detects a magnet) that would count the time of one full rotation of the sensor - thus setting the graphic score's rotation speed.

It was a fun project anyway! For more information/source code:
http://hendersonsix.com/#212455/Radius-Music
http://hendersonmedia.wordpress.com