Researchers at Queen Mary, University of London, have developed a new app, dubbed as Tunetrace, which can transform photos of real drawings into music.
Available as free download application for iPhone and iPad, the app decodes the photograph into a skeleton of line endings and crossings, and the twinkling lights on the screen navigate across the drawing, and make music as they move.
The latest music-making app is developed by QApps, which is Queen Mary’s app development venture.
QApps developer Ed Burton said that, in theory, computers are predictable because they obey simple rules.
"However, I find programming computers to be full of mystery and surprise," Burton said.
"Every novel line of code is an experiment – unexpected results often seem mysterious at first and the surprises are fun.
"I made Tunetrace interpret the lines of a drawing as lines of code so that anyone who can doodle can feel some of the mystery and surprise of programming."
Additionally, developers reveal that the app is supported with a fun, simple-to-use classroom resource, which helps anyone to get into computer programming just by drawing shapes.
QApps co-founder Peter McOwan said, in this case, the drawing gives those instructions, the app applies its rules, and the music happens.
"Using this app you can easily explore the ideas behind computer programming by adding more to the drawing to change the tune," McOwan said.
The new app is based on Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded research under Computer Science for Fun and is supported by ImpactQM, which is a three-year research project financed by EPSRC and Queen Mary Innovation.
