BodyBeats

Three musical interfaces for children (2006)

The BodyBeats Suite is three interfaces built to explore the interaction between children and computational musical instruments by using sound and music patterns. Our goals in developing the BodyBeats prototypes are (1) to help children engage their whole bodies while interacting with computers, (2) foster collaboration and pattern learning, and (3) provide a playful interaction for creating sound and music. We posit that electronic instruments for children that incorporate whole-body movement can provide active ways for children to play and learn with technology (while challenging a growing rate of childhood obesity).

publications

• Zigelbaum, J., Millner, A., Desai, B., and Ishii, H. BodyBeats: Whole-Body, Musical Interfaces for Children. Ext. Abstracts CHI ‘06, ACM Press (2006), 1595–1600.

credits

Jamie Zigelbaum, Amon Millner, Bella Desai, and Hiroshi Ishii