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Walking up to the exhibit, you just see a 21" monitor mounted on the wall, and a funny pair of sticks dangling from the ceiling, which turn out to be infrared "batons". The system does not need a keyboard or mouse - you can control the complete exhibit with those batons. Just point at the screen with them to select on-screen buttons, to conduct, to play various instruments, and so on. |
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The start screen explains to visitors briefly what the WorldBeat system is about, how it basically works, and how to use the batons to interact with the system. Once they have read this page, they can activate the "Start" button on it to get to the main menu shown below. | |
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The main menu of WorldBeat offers six different functions, or components. In the example screenshot, the user has just moved the cursor (yellow light spot) over the "Virtual Baton" icon, which displays a short description of this component without having to click on it. The various components are described below. | |
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Virtual Baton: Conduct a classical piece using one infrared baton. | |
| Joy-Sticks: Use both infrared batons to play numerous virtual instruments, from a xylophone to a guitar. |  | |
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Musical Design Patterns: Have a Blues band playing, change parameters of their performance (speed, groove, harmonic complexity), then improvise to the music - without playing wrong notes! | |
| Query By Humming: Hum your favorite Beatles song, and the computer finds and plays the piece. |  | |
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Musical Memory: Try to recognize instruments by their sound alone in an on-screen card game. | |
| Net Music: Compose pieces together with partners worldwide using email, or even in an online session. |  |