“It’s almost formless and can adapt, within reason, to whatever you want it to do.”
02
Orbit
The Concept
One of the first albums to introduce me to electronic music was "Autobahn" by Kraftwerk. They were true pioneers by performing their kind of music live. In the first footage I saw of Kraftwerk, they were using a controller to interact with the audience for their song "Pocket Calculator". That scene always stuck with me. So did the wire they kept having to deal with on stage.
The Orbit was born from that idea. A dedicated controller for musicians that frees them from wires so they can interact with their audience. Orbit needed to be something handheld, something wireless and something delightful.
The Process
As the Product Manager and Inventor I really needed to strike a balance between my budget. What would make Orbit marketable versus the cool stuff I wanted to add.
The Orbits' original name was the "Gridbox". The concepts were square and within a few iterations, we discovered it was all wrong. The square shape and the buttons towards the middle were hard to hit making performance less fun. I worked with Industrial Design to model the ergonomics to be akin the Sony Playstation Vita. After the chose the final shape was we started tooling. We spent months debugging and increasing the dependability of the wireless signal. The amazing distance we were getting in our testing would be one of the Orbits biggest hooks.
The Result
The Orbit was a critical hit. The reviewers loved its potential and how responsive the wireless tech was. Thanks to dedicated customers, the Orbit got mapping in visual and lighting software. The Orbit found its niche in lighting and video controls it has been a favorite of several touring AV teams. Orbit was a feat of engineering but super fun to use. The Orbit went on to inspire an entire study at the Berklee College of Music. One of the a students did their entire thesis on music and motion, by creating an "Orbit Suit". Orbit did what it needed to do - it gave performers something to stand out and have so much fun with.
Orbit Supporters
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KiNK!
Bulgarian techno producer and DJ KiNK is highly celebrated for his dynamic, spontaneous live performances, during which he commands an army of analog synthesizers and controllers in real time.
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Berklee College of Music
An entire study of technology in music was devoted to the Orbit and embraced by the students as an obvious progression for music technology
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Kraftwerk
Imagine my surprise one day when my co-worker told me that they saw Kraftwerk using the Orbit in their setup. It happened. One of the proudest moments of my career that the Orbit, my creation and love letter to Kraftwerk was organically adopted by Kraftwerk themselves.