Developing interactive strategies for three dimensional sound spatialization

This thesis, and accompanying materials, is a research project aimed at experimenting with various alternative methods for facilitating three-dimensional sound spatialization, with a focus on gestural controllers. The aim of the project was to investigate and evaluate alternative ways to attempt to narrow the gap between technology and creativity by developing a more intuitive controller than the standard
keyboard and mouse configuration, thereby allowing for more of a direct correlation between the ideas and the result.

During the research period, the author created four hardware interfaces that could potentially fulfill this brief, as well as a number of patches in Max/MSP to implement and control them. These interfaces were then tested by a small number of independent persons, and the results assessed and evaluated. The tests raised some important points to be taken into consideration for future development of gestural controllers.
As an accompaniment to this practical work, this thesis describes the progression of the research including challenges faced and how they were overcome, as well as an evaluation of the practical aspects of gestural control in general.