This is a USB controller, with 8 rows of 8 illuminated silicone buttons powered with the mapd software (drum machines, loopers, 1bit video transformers, physics models, virtual sliders, math games, etc.) The controller receives and sends MIDI and OSC thru mapd.

Extended information

The light and button systems interface to the computer independently: the light feedback does not necessarily follow the button input. this means that a button press doesn't always toggle its corresponding light, which would be completely limiting. by splitting the systems, the computer can display different information on the grid of lights continually while collecting button presses.

The interaction between the buttons, lights, and computer software is all configurable by the user. of course we provide several preset configurations which feature our favorite uses. we've designed an easy to use routing system, so that programming skills are by no means required to integrate the box with a preexisting computer software setup. for those interested in making more complicated control applications we provide direct software access to button and light activity.

MAPD is the routing application. it translates button presses to midi/osc, and receives midi/osc (from other applications or computers) to change lights on the hardware. single or groups of buttons can be configured for different functionality, such as a toggle, hold and release, ramp, radio group, or virtual slider. For example, we could use a radio group of 4 buttons for chords. each button has midi notes assigned to it. when pressed, these notes are sent out to the specified device. when another button in the group is pressed, a different set of notes are sent, while at the same time the previous button's notes are turned off. the lights follow the currently selected button in the group, providing an instant visual cue.

Here we use notes only as an example. the control associated with a button can range widely. midi cc and osc provide incredible flexibility.

MAPD also provides an in-depth preset scheme. buttons can be assigned to change the current mapping configuration by stepping through a pattern or momentarily switching while a button is being held.

Message filtering and learn functions are provided for quick and intuitive use. an open-mode exists to allow very low level control structures. with mapd you can create very sophisticated interaction patches without writing your own code. if you do write your own code, we provide detailed specs on our protocol for transparent integration.

Technical specifications

elements 8 by 8 (64 total)
dimensions 6.75 by 6.75 by 1.125
materials 6061 anodized aluminum, translucent silicone, conductive silicone, resin, rohs compliant (lead-free) components and pcbs
interface usb 2.0
power bus powered