Laurence Cliffe

intermedia arts | creative technology | research through design

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Generative music from ambient wi-fi data

Generative music from ambient wi-fi data

A Max patch which sonifies scanned WiFi RSSI values. The RSSI values of the scanned and collected wifi networks are mapped to MIDI note values and played through a basic sequencer. Two three-note chords are played from the collected values on the first and fifth beat of the 8 beat sequence along with the individual note values on each beat of the sequence. Tempo can be controlled and the MIDI notes values fluctuate as new RSSI values for the scanned wi-fi networks are returned by the system query. The RSSI values of each found network are stored and updated within a dictionary object. Apologies for bad sound quality (audio recorded with mic in front of computer speakers). The patch uses the Max shell external (available here: cycling74.com/tools/bernstein-shell/) to execute the shell airport scan command in macOS.