While a big portion of the Google I/O conference featured virtual reality (VR) in the form of Google Daydream and all the accompanying developers and partners, there was also space for some augmented reality (AR) news. Yuri Suzuki a sound artist, designer and electronic musician unveiled an app at the event called AR Music Kit, which allows pretty much anything to be turned into a musical instrument.
Suzuki created the AR Music Kit in collaboration with his team at YS Labs and Google’s Data Arts Team. The idea works simply with some sticky note paper and a smartphone. The easiest way to get started is to choose one of the three main instrument options, Guitar, Piano and Music Box. Select one and print out the QR style codes, cut them out and attach them to a sticky note. Then place these markers on an object you want to play. Placing the smartphone in front of you so the camera can see the markers you then bring your hand in front to play a note, easy as that.
And these first few instruments maybe just the beginning as Suzuki said to It’s Nice That: “we actually developed a lot of different instruments with different interactions. Personally, I wish to develop more and expand the idea.”
AR Music Kit is available on Google Play for free, encouraging kids into music (with adult supervision of course). VRFocus will continue its coverage of all the latest AR projects, reporting back with any new announcements.
