The Audiopad
New Instruments / Machines: (video)
The Audiopad is a performance instrument for electronic music that tracks the positions of objects on a tabletop surface and converts their motion into music. 
One can pull sounds from a giant set of samples or juxtapose archived recordings against other samples and apply digital processing all at the same time. The interface is more expressive than a laptop screen, and gives the possibility of a physical performance that is usually absent from electronic music concerts. Perhaps the only feature missing from this interface is a strap button, which would make it the best interface out there to jam with your buddies (just like the Keytar from the 80’s!). MIT graduate students James Patten and Ben Recht developed the Audiopad. Read more