Auracle is a music device designed to create a new, intuitive way to experience music. Pick a card, let it guide you to a song of the day.
Using the metaphor of the cassette player and the intuitive nature of oracle cards, Auracle guides the user in an experience to discover new songs. Each oracle card conveys a unique meaning (freedom, inner power, release, etc), the user begins by selecting a card from the deck, guided by their intuition, and placing it into the cassette compartment.
Auracle recognises the card (using NFC) and interprets its represented meaning, prompting the user with a question related to its symbolism. Through this exchange, a Large Language Model (LLM) interprets the user’s response, understanding their feelings, intentions, and current state of mind, to choose and play a song of the day.
This design is powered by an Arduino Uno Q and integrated sensors that interpret the user’s physical actions and translate them into digital input for the system. By merging ritualistic, tangible interfaces and artificial intelligence, Auracle invites users into a new daily musical oracle experience.
Designing simplicity proved to be a significant challenge. Through the development of Auracle, the team gained insight into the level of detail and iteration necessary to make a tangible interface feel effortless.
