Strange Lights On the horizon

PHOTOSYNTHESIS (2017)

IN THE AIR TONIGHT, A TRIBUTE (2020)

If a lightsaber and a guitar had a baby it would be the Optron, a light-based electronic music controller & visualizer designed by Chet Udell. Chet and the Optron won Best Performance Peoples Choice Award at the world-renowned GA Tech Guthman New Musical Instrument Competition in 2017.

Optron inherits the performance practice of both the electric guitar and the lightsaber. It has:

  • Fully 3D-printed design, variety of materials and colors!

  • 169 RGB LED light strip and optical diffuser

  • 5 capacitive sensing electric strings

  • 8 hand-tracking motion sensors detect position and distance

  • 3-axis accelerometer

  • 3-axis gyroscope

  • Linear-pressure-sensitive fret board

    • Novel mechanical design enables both 24 frets and continuous “fret-less” playing

  • Open CV light tracking software and webcam converts Optron light patterns into music data.