SOMA CHROMA

01

Premise · Skin as universe

The body is not a label.
It is a living archive.

SOMA CHROMA begins with one question: how do we perceive ourselves when the social gaze is replaced by an inward, curious one?

Every inch of skin holds a singular record of time: veins, scars, pigmentation, temperature and emotion. The installation reads a momentary chromatic trace and poetically translates it into mountains, vegetation, rivers and sound—turning cold data into an embodied encounter.

Blue and green generative particle landscape — A landscape generated from the body’s chromatic data Processing · TCS3200 · Java Sound

01 / DATA

Embodied data

The system does not treat RGB values as detached numbers. They remain connected to a body, a moment and a lived history.

02 / TRANSLATION

Poetic translation

The work does not reproduce skin scientifically. It releases its latent qualities through an audiovisual language.

03 / RITUAL

Ritualistic interaction

A quiet gesture of contact becomes a safe ritual for observing, listening and reconnecting with the self.

02

Visitor journey · Four movements

How to enter
the living landscape

01

Approach

Stand in front of the display and locate the illuminated sensor probe. The system waits in a ready state.

02

Choose a trace

Bring the probe close to a vein, freckle, scar or any area of skin that feels personally meaningful.

03

Witness

RGB data reshapes the landscape and sound in real time. Stay still, then move slowly to hear and see subtle transitions.

04

Release

Move away from the sensor. After a short reset, the installation is ready for the next participant.

What is—and is not—collected

The sensor reads temporary RGB values; it does not photograph or identify the participant. At first contact, the program saves only the generated landscape frame.

03

One skin · Three ecological voices

See the colour.
Listen to its terrain.

Select a biome to hear a short browser-generated study inspired by the installation’s sound engine. Sound plays only after you choose.

R / MOUNTAIN

Geological memory

Red values shape the ruggedness of the visual terrain and open a grounded sonic layer: low stone resonance, a slow pulse and subtle stereo displacement.

Visual: Rugged elevation / dense contours
Sound: 38–61 Hz resonance / geological pulse
Meaning: Skeleton, memory and accumulated time

04

Probe · Messenger · Engine

An ecosystem of
sensing and translation

01

TCS3200

The probe reads reflected red, green and blue light from the skin.

02

Arduino

The messenger calibrates and sends RGB values as serial data.

03

Processing

The engine maps one data stream into particles, terrain, colour and sound.

04

Audiovisual landscape

A unique image and soundscape emerge from the participant’s momentary chroma.

SOMA CHROMA system design and TCS3200 sensor research — Sensor selection, interaction sketch and system architecturePROCESS ARCHIVE / 2024

05

Installation manual · Before opening

From seven wires
to a living field

01

Hardware checklist

Arduino Uno TCS3200 7 jumper wires USB data cable Display or projector Stereo speaker / headphones

02

TCS3200 → Arduino wiring

TCS3200Arduino UnoFunction

S0D4Frequency scaling A

S1D5Frequency scaling B

S2D6Colour filter A

S3D7Colour filter B

OUTD8Pulse output

VCC5VPower

GNDGNDGround

Disconnect USB power before changing any wire. Confirm VCC and GND first, then connect the signal pins.

03

Software startup sequence

01
Upload Arduino code
Open the TCS3200 sketch, select Arduino Uno and the correct USB port, then upload.
02
Verify serial data
Open Serial Monitor at 9600 baud. Confirm that each line follows the format R,G,B.
03
Close Serial Monitor
Only one program can use the port. Close Arduino’s monitor before launching Processing.
04
Run the main sketch
Open SOMA_CHROMA_Final_With_Sound.pde. Keep SomaSoundEngine.pde in the same sketch folder, then press Run.
05
Check output
The image should fill the display and the audio device should open automatically. Test one skin contact.

04

Sensor calibration

A

Read the room

Avoid direct sunlight and highly reflective surfaces. Keep the sensor lighting consistent.

B

Fix the distance

Hold skin close to—but not pressed against—the LEDs. Use the same distance for all tests.

C

Tune the ranges

If values stay near 0 or 255, adjust the pulseIn mapping ranges in the Arduino readColor() function.

05

Troubleshooting

Processing cannot connect to the serial port

Close Arduino Serial Monitor and any other program using the port. Reconnect USB, then restart Processing. If several ports are listed, select the Arduino port explicitly.

Skin contact is not detected

Check brightness and RGB values on screen. Keep the sensor close to the skin, reduce stray light and recalibrate the Arduino mapping ranges for the exhibition space.

The visuals work but there is no sound

Check the computer’s output device and volume. Press M once to clear accidental mute. Restart the sketch after changing audio hardware.

The state changes too quickly or flickers

Stabilize the sensor distance and room lighting. Increase REARM_THRESHOLD if the installation needs a longer reset interval.

The frame rate becomes slow

Close background applications, use the discrete GPU if available and reduce MAX_PARTICLES for lower-powered computers.

06

Code architecture · One data stream

Visual and sound
share the same skin data.

01ARDUINO / C++

Sense & transmit

// TCS3200 → serial RGB
readColor();
Serial.print(redValue);
Serial.print(",");
Serial.print(greenValue);
Serial.print(",");
Serial.println(blueValue);

Reads three filtered frequencies and sends a clean comma-separated data packet every 50 ms.

02PROCESSING / JAVA

Translate & coordinate

// One touch, two outputs
somaSound.triggerContact(
  sensorR, sensorG, sensorB
);

somaSound.update(
  stableSkinForSound,
  sensorR, sensorG, sensorB
);

The main sketch stabilizes sensor contact, constructs the particle landscape and sends the same RGB values to sound.

03JAVA SOUND

Resonate & crossfade

// Continuous biome blend
mountainMix +=
  (targetMountain - mountainMix)
  * mixCoefficient;

renderMountain();
renderVegetation();
renderRiver();

Three independent sound worlds crossfade smoothly; first contact inherits the current RGB landscape.

SOMA CHROMA color texture and sound optimization code archive — Colour texture and sound optimisation — selected code iterationsKEY EXCERPTS / FINAL VERSION

07

Exhibition field notes

The work becomes complete
when another body enters.

SOMA CHROMA installation detail — Sensor, body and screen in one continuous encounter

Participants testing SOMA CHROMA — Participant testing, discussion and reflection

“The screen did not show a fixed identity. It showed a landscape that kept becoming—something that felt like me, and yet larger than me.”
Synthesis of participant reflections

08

Project film · Full encounter

Watch the landscape
listen back to the body.

FORMATInteractive installation

TOOLSProcessing · Arduino · TCS3200

DATEMay—Jul 2024

Open on YouTube ↗

The body is not a label.It is a living archive.