{"id":273,"date":"2015-12-15T17:10:08","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T17:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aaronparsekian.com\/?p=273"},"modified":"2015-12-15T17:11:51","modified_gmt":"2015-12-15T17:11:51","slug":"final-documentation-beats-exposed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aaronparsekian.com\/?p=273","title":{"rendered":"Final Documentation – Beats Exposed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The\u00a0Project<\/h2>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Beats Exposed is an interactive performance experience that breaks down the barrier between audience and performer. By exposing the body\u2019s vital signs, the performer invites the audience to see beyond the polished act and into the extreme physical and personal effort.<\/p>\n

Beats Exposed is built to be used in performance on, or off, stage. It is lightweight and able to run in a variety of settings.<\/p>\n

Our\u00a0current iteration of the project is performed with an aerialist. It exposes the exertion in an artform that is extremely demanding, yet typically meant to appear effortless.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Or project senses the aerial performers heartbeat with a Polar pulse sensor, and sends this pulse wirelessly via two Moteino boards. The pulse is then used in a P5 javascript sketch to effect audio and visualizations.<\/p>\n

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In this experience, the audience hears the sound of a heartbeat timed with the performer\u2019s pulse. The visualization, also reacting to the pulse, projects from the ceiling onto the performer, surrounding area, and any audience members that have come in close. The resulting experience is intimate, personal and engaging.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The polar band is able to send a reliable heart pulse even during movement<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Our method for measuring the heart beat of the performer changed drastically over the course of our testing. The first version we used worked via sticky electrodes attached to the chest and connected to an EKG operational amplifier\u00a0which amplifies\u00a0the minute voltages generated by the heart. We quickly ran into noise issues when the performer made any slight movement. After trying some simple signal processing in arduino, as well as modifying our EKG breakout board to include heavy filtering, we found it very hard to get a reliable signal.<\/p>\n

After\u00a0a lot of research into portable EKG units worn by the ‘patient’, I began to learn the importance of using an accelerometer alongside the electrodes in order to filter out movement noise. The first time I heard of such a thing was buried in a youtube video:<\/p>\n