Voice Knitting Machine

A few really nice projects are shown on the Campus 2.0. of ars electronica. One that particularly stands out is Gelsomina by Magdalena Kohler and Hanna Wiesener, two students from the UDK (university of the arts) in Berlin.

How does it feel when a sweater becomes a medium with which to record your own voice? Gelsomina, the voice knitting machine, makes it possible to transfer individual vocal melodies to a piece of clothing so that they become visible in the different varieties of knitted patterns.

The fashion designer and the product designer worked together to hack a knitting machine from the '70s. Just say a message into a microphone and the frequency of your voice is analyzed by a computer and turned into binary code that the machine will interpret to control 24 servo-motors which will turn your words into knitted pattern. And hop! You can wear an individual voice message on a sweater. No one will understand the message, it will stay in your head. The pattern doesn't just depend on the words but it varies also according to your modulation, whether you are excited or totally introverted. And of course wearing your voice is quite intimate so you might probably want to keep the garment just for you or offer it to someone you love.

Magdalena and Hanna have even partnered with an industrial knitting company to produce a line of clothing that are made to be worn very close to your skin. Starting in November, it will be possible to leave your message via the internet.

More images.

Related: Ringtone garments.