Aims
The hackathon aims at creating new technological solutions which will enable children with low motor abilities to create music through novel physical interfaces. Students will combine design and engineering skills for the implementation of new musical instruments, offering children a joyful play experience, as well as new means for interaction. The preceeding lectures will provide students with basic knowledge on psychology, computer science, mechatronics, mathematics, educational science, and music science.
Course
In preparatory lectures at the University of Innsbruck, students will get to know the essentials of music therapy, music theory, sound engineering, psychology, disability studies, mathematics, mechatronics, and programming. Lectures take place each Thursday from March to April from 5.15 to 7.45 PM. After the lectures, students will develop their own concepts and hand in a short proposal. Students that attend the lecture and hand in a proposal will receive 2 ECTS upon positive assessment.
On the basis of the proposals, ten students will be selected to represent the University of Innsbruck in the hackathon taking place from May 16 to 23 at the MADE Multidisciplinary Assistive Design & Engineering Lab at Holon Institute of Technology in Tel Aviv. The workshop lasts four days and will culminate in a musical happening event at a special education school, where children are invited to try out the instruments developed throughout the hackathon. Travel and accomodation costs are kindly provided by the "1669 - Wissenschafft-Gesellschaft - Förderkreis der Universität Innsbruck" and the Austria-Israel Academic Network Innsbruck (AIANI).
After the hackathon, a follow-up will take place in Innsbruck. Prototypes will be presented at the “Kindergarten für Alle” and refined based on children’s and caretaker’s feedback. Students will include these refinements in their documentation to create a final draft. The follow-up will culminate in an official presentation of the revised prototypes at the “Kindergarten für Alle”. Students participating in the hackathon and the follow-up will receive 3 ECTS upon positive assessment.
Throughout the second half of 2020, the refined prototypes will be allocated to the kindergarten. A scientific study will be conducted to assess the benefits of the instruments on children’s socio-emotional competencies.
Expected Outcomes
In course of the lectures, students gain an insight in the fundamentals of music therapy, music theory, sound engineering, psychology, disability studies, mathematics, mechatronics, and programming and develop ideas for novel interactive music instruments for children with disabilities.
The joint workshop will produce a number of working prototypes - new physical instruments allowing children with motor impairments to connect through music. Selected projects will be considered for a trial integration within the partner institutions in Israel and Austria in order to evaluate their potential as real-world products. All projects will be documented for PR purposes, and press will be invited to cover the workshop and its outcomes.
Dates & Registration
Lectures take place on Thursdays, 17.15-19.45, starting on March 5. For detailed information on dates and to register for the lectures, please visit LFU:online.
To check whether you receive course credits for attending the "Enabling Music" courses, please check your curriculum or contact the respective supervisor.
Preliminary Schedule
Lecture Series (Innsbruck, Austria)
2020-03-05: Introduction & Music Psychology
2020-03-12: Disability Studies & Therapy
2020-03-19: Mathematics & Mechatronics
2020-03-26: Programming I
2020-04-02: Sound Engineering
2020-04-23: Programming II
2020-04-30: Music Theory & Practice
Hackathon (Tel Aviv, Israel)
2020-05-16 : arrival
2020-05-17 - 2020-05-20 : hackathon
2020-05-21 : final presentation
2020-05-22 : free time
2020-05-23 : departure
Supervisors
Ing. Simon Haller-Seeber, BSc - Department of Computer Science
Prof. Mag. Dr. Alexander Ostermann - Department of Mathematics & Research Area Scientific Computing
Prof. Justus Piater, PhD - Department of Computer Science & Digital Science Center
Alexander Schlögl, MSc - Department of Computer Science
Hannah Strauß, BA MSc - Department of Psychology
Previous Projects
In order to get more information on your project, check out the following article or the video produced by the MADE Lab covering our first hackathon in 2018.
Further Information
