Dr. Amitabh Mishra

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are having a dramatic impact on the way surrounding environment is being monitored. In this article, many underlying design issues of WSNs have been summarized, starting from the coverage and the connectivity. As batteries provide energy to sensor nodes, effective ways of power conservation are considered. Advantages of placing sensors in a regular pattern have also been discussed and various tradeoffs for many possible ways of secured communication in a WSN are summarized. Challenges in deploying WSN for monitoring CO emission are briefly covered. Potential use of sensors in many different fields are also discussed, including an exact boundary detection of a wild forest fire. Finally, the use of sensors is illustrated in automatically generating music based on dancers’ movements.

"Water Birds" is an interactive composition for Bb and bass clarinet, computer music and wireless sensor system by Mara Helmuth and Rebecca Danard. A wireless sensor network with infra-red sensors responds to the clarinetist’s movements, and sends data into MaxMSP for signal processing control. The wireless sensor configuration was developed by Jung Hyun Jun, Talmai Oliveira, Amitabh Mishra, Ahmad Mostafa and Dharma Agrawal, and extended for this project in collaboration with Helmuth. MaxMSP Mxj Java objects were created to receive data from the programmed tmote sensors. Helmuth’s score consists of four sound-generating ideas. Her Max patch and RTcmix scripts process the clarinet sound with spectral delays through the rtcmix~ plugin for Max5. Danard created a working score solidifying her decisions about materials played and order of events. Helmuth and Danard’s interactive compositional process allowed to piece to evolve organically into a work commenting on the interaction of people, nature and technology.

Collaboration between the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Center for Computer Music and the School of Engineering’s Computer Science has resulted in the development of interactive performance systems for computer music. Several of the systems involved music generated by the movements of dance, culminating in a series of well-produced performances with 20 dancers and the music of two composers. Another system contributed interactive aspects to an installation environment based on a Tibetan monastery. Tmote sensors with light and received signal strength indication, and attached acceleration sensors provided data to the computer music system. Java instrument and client objects were created to bring this data into MaxMSP and Jitter to control selection of audio and visual material and digital signal processing. This paper is an overview of recent projects.