The Thummer Mapping Project (ThuMP)

This paper presents the Thummer Mapping Project (ThuMP), an industry partnership project between ThumMotion P/L and The University of Western Sydney (UWS). ThuMP sought to developing mapping strategies for new interfaces for musical expression (NIME), specifically the Thummer#8482;, which provides thirteen simultaneous degrees of freedom. This research presents a new approach to the mapping problem resulting from a primary design research phase and a prototype testing and evaluation phase. In order to establish an underlying design approach for the Thummer#8482; mapping strategies, a number of interviews were carried out with high-level acoustic instrumental performers, the majority of whom play with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney, Australia. Mapping strategies were developed from analysis of these interviews and then evaluated in trial usability testing.