Tiny, Touch-Sensitive Tool Turns any Object into an Instrument

Build a piano out of vegetables or make a keyboard out of aluminum foil. Inventors and sound designers Yuri Suzuki and Mark McKeague at Dentaku, the London design studio developed an “all-in-one musical invention kit,” called Ototo. The device, a white circuit board with a black plastic speaker, allows users to control a synth keyboard by connecting 12 touch-sensors to any conductive surface or substrate. So you can make music from various objects around the house. Crazy examples include a bike that makes music when you touch the handlebars, as well as balloons with foil taped on them, so sounds ring out as they sway and collide in the air. It’s sound experimentation and art installation all at once! 

‘Musicletta’ by Victor Ferier, Tessa Donati, Hoossly Belinda, and Alice Robbiani

‘Eggtopus’ by Julie-Lou Bellenot, Lara Defayse, and Tom Zambaz 

Learn more about Ototo here. 

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