JazzMutant's Lemur is an innovative input device to control computer real-time applications. It combines a distinctive industrial design, a brilliant modular graphic interface concept, and a unique and patented touchscreen technology that can track multiple fingers simultaneously.
The Performers Best Friend
Are you seriously planning to control a 32 band vocoder with a fader box? Have you ever tried to change a realistic reverb made of nearly thirty parameters in real-time? Which input device allows you to take all the benefit of a powerful physical model synthesizer?
Easy to use, fully configurable and with a great visual feedback, The Lemur is the first hardware controller which fits the ever increasing sophistication of real-time softwares.
As a performance interface, the Lemur is immediately appealing. You touch colorful rounded interface objects on the 12" LCD display to control your computer in any way you can imagine. Using an editor application running on your choice of Mac or Windows, you drag and drop switches, faders, and other objects into an exact simulation of the Lemur's screen. Make any number of interfaces, store them in an XML-based project file and it's ready to go.
Page Up and Down buttons above the display will flip through your pre-defined interface pages, instantly changing the appearance and behavior of the device. One moment you can be mixing by moving several faders simultaneously. The next moment you can be controlling a software synth or composing real-time video sequences with switches and balls that can be thrown around in a two-dimensional space.
Tap pads, drag balls, stretch strings: the Lemur understands all sorts of hand gestures and transforms them into any kind of data. Assign a fader object to change filter cutoff. Use a two-dimensional controller for multi-channel panning or scratching a sound file. Spend some quality time alone with your imagination: whether you're a composer, performer, DJ, VJ or sound designer, you will find no shortage of cool applications for this animal.
Make Your Laptop A Real Instrument
At first glance, the Lemur does not seem to be anything else than a modular and extremely versatile Star Trek style controller. In a way, that is true, in so far as the palette of user objects allows the Lemur to advantageously replace any type of known controllers, from a mixing deck to a video remote, a 16-step sequencer or any other existing control device. Merely looking for a way to trail along with your whole studio slung across the shoulder? No doubt, the Lemur is made for you!
However, if you are willing to spend some time exploring its whole potential and all its great advanced features, you will quickly realize that the Lemur is much more than a simple controller. It will literally transform your computer into a real instrument. For that purpose, in addition to the standard user interface objects (faders, switches, monitors), the Lemur's library also includes powerful and groundbreaking two-dimensional objects. Although they might puzzle you at first sight, these new objects will soon change your studio works and live performances into exhilarating experiences.
In addition to taking on any size and shape, the Lemur's user interface objects have "physical" properties (including friction, evaporation, and attraction force) that can be customized at any time - even while performing. Items can either stay where you drag them, or slide away from your finger as if on ice. Apply a gravity model to a bank of sliders and they will behave as if they were held by a virtual string. "Throw" a low-friction fader hard enough and it will bounce off the bottom of your mixer.
Last but not least, a powerful mathematical expressions parser allows you to create high level layers of interaction between your fingers, the different objects and your favourite applications. It means that you're not forced to control the nonlinear world of audio with 0 to 127 anymore: objects can be attached to arbitrary mathematical expressions to transform your movements into appropriate ranges for what you are trying to control. In addition, use the Lemur's internal accurate clock in conjunction with very basic mathematical formula and you will generate any kind of time-domain function : LFOs, envelopes, sequences, etc.
Once you will have come to grips with your Lemur, you will catch yourself playing your computer in a way you never imagine before.
A Step Beyond The MIDI
Recently, the Lemur has been provided with the capacity to generate MIDI messages, so that it can work with your favorite software. Moreover, it is one of the first hardware controller that complies with Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol, an emerging ethernet-based standard for controllers that has numerous advantages over MIDI: low latency, higher data capacity, 32-bit numerical precision, and easy configurability.
OSC is currently supported by modular music applications such as Max/MSP, Reaktor, Pd and SuperCollider, and also by powerful real-time video creation tools such as Jitter, Processing, Isadora or Flash - and more OSC- compatible applications are on the way.
Once you experience the ability to name controllers freely, hook them up to high-resolution values and send hundreds of those at once, MIDI will seem very 1980s (which it is, by the way). Not surprisingly, OSC can be used with multiple controllers on a network, so if one Lemur is not enough, just use a standard ethernet hub and you can have a whole zoo full of them.
Would you like to simultaneously perform both your granular sound textures generated by Reaktor and your powerful Jitter-based 3D scenes? Just plug your two laptops on a local network and kindly ask your Lemur to control them both.
Finally, you can also use the two-way nature of OSC to display numerical status information sent to the Lemur from your computer, allowing you to track what is going on with your computer without the computer being anywhere nearby. This means your performance can look more like performing and less like office work.
Down With Controllers
There are many controllers available on the market today and we bet that much more will come in a near future. Hard to use, lacking any visual feedback, and a pain to configure: they have lacked the sense of infinite possibilities we have come to cherish in software.
Above all, the most significative innovation of the past five years in the controller industry has been the impressive price drop. Meanwhile, the gap existing between increasingly sophisticated software and archaic controllers has dramatically widened. Even the combination of dozens of previously released controllers would not equal the Lemur's capacity to mirror the unlimited potential of modular softwares.
How Does It Work
Connect the Lemur
To start with, plug your Lemur to the ethernet interface of your computer by using its cross-over Cat5 / RJ45 wire. This configuration does not require any additional hardware or software driver. Provided that your computer network interface has been correctly configured, it should be ready to go.
Alternatively, you can connect it to your local area network. It might be helpful in case you own many computers or (lucky you!) several Lemurs.
Build Your Interface
The Lemur is provided with JazzEditor, a cross-platform interface builder. Run it and start the connection with the Lemur. Create as many interfaces as you need by dragging and droping graphic objects on the JazzEditor main window. Copy and paste them, change their size and their shape with the mouse. Finally customize their appearance as well as their physical behavior. Interfaces are instantaneously updated on the Lemur display, so that you can try out what you are editing in real-time.
Assign Control Objects
Each object sends out a certain number of control parameters that correspond to their state. These parameters can be used to :
- Control directly your OSC compatible software
- Generate any kind of MIDI events
- Control the properties of other graphic objects in order to modify their behavior in real-time
- Create as many custom control messages as you need
Play
Launch your favourite real-time application. Get datas that come from the Lemur, assigned them the way you want. Now play.
Hardware Features
Multitouch sensing with visual feedback
The lemur’s top feature is its unique multi-touch sensor, able to track an unlimited number of fingers at once. This transparent sensor is set on a top of the range industrial-class 12” TFT display. Compared to the average laptop monitors, the Lemur’s panel is much brighter, contrasted and it offers a much wider viewing angle. Thus, you can always see what is on display, even under spotlights or in a critical lighting environment.
Built-in computing ressources
The Lemur also embeds an internal CPU, a powerful GPU (graphic processing unit) as well as a FPU (floating point arithmetic unit), which makes it a quite independant pet for your laptop. In other words, since it manages video rendering and other processor-consuming tasks by itself, it will not overload the processor of the computer.
Robust design
As any electronic device or musical instrument, the Lemur obviously needs to be handled with care. Nevertheless, no worry about that, you can use a Lemur in any situation wherever you are : although it is not unbreakable, it has been designed to comply with industrial product standards and it is robust enough to work in the most critical contexts. Indeed, the whole system is housed in a sleek, robust though lightweight aluminium enclosure. The sensor itself is protected with a vandal-proof coating that resists to scratches and humidity. And since it is glued on a 3mm glass plate, the touchscreen also protects the TFT display from being damaged.
Fast ethernet connectivity
The Lemur communicates with the host computer using Fast Ethernet connection, thanks to its built-in 100BaseT interface, which means that the Lemur is capable of exchanging thousands of control messages at once with your application. It also means that you can connect numerous computers and Lemurs on a local area network and make all of them party together.
Instant navigation
The Lemur can deal with a great number of interfaces simultaneously. Thanks to the +/- navigation buttons, you can navigate on-the-fly among those. The Lemur also features an Interface List button that opens a thumbnail gallery displaying all the current interfaces. Thus, you can directly go to the selected interface by touching the corresponding thumbnail. The interface change happens without any latency.
Fully upgradable firmware
We are always working on improvements and new features. The Lemur can be fully updated with a new firmware by the user through the LAN interface. A checkout system prevents the systeme against improper programming.
Object Library
Fader
The Fader tracks your finger with a virtual “knob” and transmits one value corresponding to the position of the knob. The fader can be set horizontally or vertically and resized in both directions. The value as well as its label can be displayed. Other available options include physical model (linear interpolation or mass-spring) and object color.
MultiBall
The Multiball object assigns each finger to track one of a number of balls in a rectangular space. Balls can either always be visible or only appear when you touch the space. the latter is called ephemeral mode. The multiball supports up to 10 balls and provides 3 parameters for each of those (X, Y and Brightness). Thus, the Multiball object can output up to 30 continuous control simultaneously! The indice of each ball and the object name can be displayed. The area border color can be adjusted. By balancing the numerous physical properties of this object, you will obtain a wide range of interesting behaviors.
RingArea
The RingArea is another 2D controller, except that the ball is inside a circular space. Moreover, the ball is linked to at least one ‘attractor’, so that it comes back to its point when you release it.
MultiSlider
The MultiSlider object tracks movement across an array of sliders (up to 64). You can “wipe” all the faders to a set value with one horizontal gesture. This is pretty hard to do with real—or virtual—faders. It also includes a ‘gravity’ mode which allows the MultiSlider to emulate the physics of an object similar to a plucked string anchored at the left and right sides of the array of sliders. Your fingers “pluck” the string by lifting it up in one or more places. The values of the sliders ramp up to meet your fingers and track them as they move. Lifting your finger(s) from the surface releases the string, and its subsequent behavior is determined by the Tension, Friction, and Height values.
Pads
The Pads object is a two-dimensional array of buttons that are triggered by touch. They are intended to trigger events instead of represent state, since they eventually return to an “off” value after you touch them.
SignalScope
The SignalScope displays values of other objects and variables on your Lemur. The “trace” shows a recent history of the value of what you are monitoring.
Switches
The Switches object is a two-dimensional array of toggle switches whose values are reversed when you touch them. Switches can be used to represent and transmit one or more on-off states.
Monitor
The Monitor sends no data when you touch it. Its purpose is to display values from other objects or information sent to the Lemur by your computer.
Software Features
User-friendly software editor
The Lemur is provided with JazzEditor, a crossplatform (Mac/Win) interface builder. This software enables to create interfaces consisting of graphic objects on your computer and to store them in the Lemur. The number of interfaces that can be included in a single project is not limited: it only depends on the number of objects. Indeed, a Lemur project can contain up to 1024 interactive objects and 1024 mathematical expressions.
Easy and advanced configurability
In addition to the editing features, the JazzEditor also provides a comprehensive hierarchical overview of your project. It also offers a full set of options to customize each object: dimension, shape, appearance, status and behavior.
Mathematical Expressions
One of the most powerful features of the Lemur is its mathematical expressions system. Thus, you just have to use arithmetical or logical operation to alter the objects' value range or behavior. You can also create as many additional control messages as you need, which can be pretty useful when you wan't an object to control several items at once. This mathematical expression system features a full set of logical and arithmetic operators, and you can create your own user-defined functions.
OpenSoundControl compatibility
The lemur is the first control surface to comply with OSC protocol. Thanks to this protocol, the Lemur is capable of:
- Sending 32-bit floating point values
- Encapsulating up to 256 values within a single message
- Controlling several computers at once with broadcast messages
- Being controlled back by the application multislider
MIDI support
Since Update V1.2, JazzEditor also works as an OSC to MIDI messages converter. OSC floating point values that come from the Lemur can be converted into any kind of MIDI datas (note-ons, Control Change, Program Change, MIDI Clock, sysex ... ), and sent out to an external MIDI port. Although MIDI protocol is not as flexible and accurate as OSC, it allows the Lemur to be used in conjunction with almost software instruments and sequencers.
Technical Features
- Physical characteristics
- Size : 36.8cm x 29.46cm x 3cm, 14.5" × 11.6" × 1.2"
- Weight : 2.5 kg, 5.5 lbs.
- Display Size : 12" Resolution : 800x600 pixels
- Type : TFT LCD
- Connectivity : Computer interface : Ethernet (100-baseT), OpenSoundControl
