Augmented Reality Collaborative Groove

Augmented Groove is a musical interface that explores use of
augmented reality, 3D interfaces, and physical, tangible interaction
for conducting multimedia musical performance. Users can play
music together, with or without traditional music instruments, simply
by picking and manipulating physical cards on a table. The physical
movements of the cards are mapped to changes in musical elements
such as timbre, pitch, rhythm, distortion, and reverb. At the same time,
users wearing lightweight head-mounted displays can see 3D virtual
images attached to the cards. The shapes, color, and dynamics of the
virtual images reflect aspects of the music.
In this augmented reality environment, users can see the physical
world, virtual objects, and each other, so several users can gather
around the mixing table and jam together, passing sequences to
each other in the same manner in which we pass everyday objects
from person to person. In a sense, the music becomes a physical,
tangible object, something that can be touched and seen as part
of the physical environment.

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Musical control in Augmented Groove is deliberately imprecise:
performers manipulate short musical sequences, or phrases, rather
than individual words. The resulting musical performance is a
computer-supported improvisation in which the user arranges, mixes ,
and modifies pre-composed musical phrases on a structural level.