In January 2012 we first heard about Mogees, a small device created by Bruno Zamborlin for a PhD project in Arts and Computational Technologies. Two years later and, after going through some literal fine-tuning, Mogees has made it to Kickstarter. But just what is this strange device that promises to let you "Play the world"?
Mogees comprises two elements: a sensor that resembles a stethoscope, and a smartphone app that works with the sensor to create music. The idea is that you place the sensor onto an everyday object, such as a car, a balloon, or a radiator, and then play that object. This could mean tapping, hitting, or even blowing onto it.
The sensor picks up the sounds and sends them to the app, which then analyzes the incoming sounds and converts them into music on the fly. The app features a free mode and a song mode, the former allowing you to improvise, the latter allowing you to play a pre-existing song using a random object. You can also associate different sounds with different objects, capture sounds for future use, and play along to a backing track.
As always with Kickstarter campaigns, it's important to remember you're only pledging money with the promise of a reward if the funding goal is met – rather than buying a product outright. With that in mind, a pledge of US$40 brings the promise of a Mogees for iOS or Android, with worldwide shipping included and an estimated delivery of November 2014. Those willing to pledge $97 or more can be beta testers, receiving the Mogees earlier than everyone else.
The Kickstarter campaign video below shows the creator of Mogees discussing his invention and offering up potential uses for the device.
Source: Kickstarter
