Portable Biofeedback Synth

Pocket SCÍON is a portable device that captures biofeedback data sourced from contact with living organisms. This data is used by the onboard sound engine to generate evolving soundscapes and a range of MIDI messages. The data is also accessible as OSC messages which are broadcast from the accompanying desktop application.

Anyone can create, shape, and enjoy music with Pocket SCÍON regardless of existing musical experience. Despite its stand-alone, plug-and-play interface, experienced or adventurous users can use the MIDI and OSC output capabilities to integrate Pocket SCÍON and biofeedback into their studios, installations, and audio- visual projects.

Pocket SCÍON includes instruments created exclusively for the device, made in collaboration with Tarun Nayar (Modern Biology), an ecologist, musician and prolific user of our Eurorack format SCÍON module.

Simultaneous to audio and MIDI, when used alongside the desktop application, Pocket SCÍON can also broadcast OSC messages from the selected OSC port, based on the stimulation of the internal biofeedback sensor.

This feature allows Pocket SCÍON to become a portable means for data sonification and visualisation with a variety of audio and visual based software, such as: Max/MSP, Pure Data, Touch Designer, Unreal Engine, and more.

Hardware Features

• Four custom instruments (Secret Garden, Fungal Waves, Treebeard’s Koto & Soil Circuits)
• Sound generation via the capacitive touch pad or sensor clips
• Five note polyphony
• Raw signal output
• Type A TRS-MIDI and USB-MIDI output with single- or multi-channel MIDI voice allocation 
• Open Sound Control (OSC) data over USB via the desktop application

Software Features

• Customise scales, ratcheting of instruments
• Customise Octave Range, Offsets, MIDI Channel and CC’s of Voices
• The following six values (in ms) are broadcast as OSC messages:
  • /min – shortest pulse period
  • /max – longest pulse period
  • /mean – average period
  • /delta – max − min (spread)
  • /variance – average squared deviation from /mean
  • /deviation – square-root of variance

What’s in the box?

• Pocket SCÍON
• Senor Cables
• QR Code card (Links to Online Manual)
• A5 Card from Tarun Nayar 

Product Specifications

• Net weight 56.6g
• Gross weight 100g