junXion v5 is a Mac OSX data routing application that can process ‘sensors’ from any HID (joysticks, mice, touchscreens), MIDI, OSC, Audio, Arduino and Video device using conditional processing and remapping, with MIDI or OSC events as its output. This resulting MIDI or OSC data is then available to any audio or music software that runs on that Mac or can be send to external MIDI/OSC devices.
junXion v5 is a system whereby the user creates so-called ‘Patches’. Each Patch is a connection between a sensor input (for example: ‘joystick X-axis’ or Video Event Object y-position) and an Action (for example: ‘convert the sensor data into midi controller 3, but only under certain conditions’). The Action is a user selectable set of conditions and actions that determine what should happen with the input-sensor’s data and what kind of MIDI or OSC data should be send out.
junXion v5 features
- recognition and usage of 8 types of Input Sensors
- Human Interface Events, such as joystick X-axis, mouse scroll wheel, touch screen Y-axis
- MIDI Events, such as MIDI note events from Port 1, Mod. Wheel events from Port 2
- Timer Events, internal data generating processes, up to 100 Timers can be used
- OSC (Open Sound Control) Events via network
- WiiRemote Events, the popular Wii controllers support (on bluetooth machines)
- Audio Events, as level and pitch tracking sensors
- Arduino Inputs, simply reading the sensors connected to an Arduino board and using junXion to process these
- Video Inputs, use live video image to extract a ‘Video Object’ out of movement, color recognition, etc.
- being resolution independent, junXion v5 can handle any input data up to 16-bit resolution
- one Input Sensor such as ‘joystick X-axis’ can be connected to multiple Actions, thus generating multiple MIDI/OSC events
- multiple Input Sensors can be connected to one Action, so for example several switches of your joystick can trigger the same Action
- (auto) scaling of the incoming data
- straight mapping from the incoming data into one of the available MIDI/OSC events
- remapping of the computer keyboard and mouse to MIDI/OSC events
- creation of analog style sequencers using junXion’s Timers
- MIDI output port or OSC network port selectable per Action
- the possibility to simultaneously connect up to 15 USB input devices and route them to separate or common MIDI channels/ports (for example: you can for instance ‘play’ Ableton Live with two joysticks and the computer keyboard)
- external MIDI input data can be merged with junXion’s MIDI data or reprocessed and even turned into OSC messages
- save/recall user defined configurations
- editable table based response curves for the translation of gestures into MIDI controller data
- an extended set of data conditioners and conditional data routing (for example: passing a threshold by moving a joystick will first trigger a note and than send its further movement data as MIDI controller data)
- ‘Timers’ for timed data streams triggered and ‘steered’ by external input devices (for example: use for simple sequencing)
- ‘Audio Events’ as sensors, for each audio input junXion can extract the Level and Pitch to be used as input data.
- ‘Video Events’ as sensors, for each in junXion’s video object editor definable Object you get six different input sensors, such as x and y position.
Some of the above functionality has successfully been applied in other STEIM systems for live performance: LiSa, The Lick Machine, SensorLab. The Amsterdam based STEIM foundation and its researchers have been at the forefront of the invention of physical input devices and touch based hardware and software instruments for live electronic music performance since the early 70′s. STEIM’s longtime director Michel Waisvisz, unfortunately now deceased, was one of the driving forces behind performances with free-movement hand-worn sensor/keyboard instruments and has, together with programmer Frank Baldé, designed several hardcore performance systems.