The Rain Receiver project started with a simple question during a picnic:
what if an umbrella could do more than just protect us from the rain?
Imagined as a device to capture and convert rain into digital signals, the Rain Receiver is designed to archive nature's voice,
capturing the interactions between humans and the natural world.
Inspiration for the project came from the "About Energy" workshops, where I learned about ways to use natural energy—like wind power for flying kites.
This got me thinking about how we could take signals from nature and use them to interact with our devices.

The Rain Receiver came together through experimenting with Max/MSP and Arduino. Using a piezo sensor to detect raindrops, I set it up to translate each drop into MIDI sounds. By sending these signals through Arduino to Max/MSP, I could automatically trigger the instruments and effects I had preset. Shifting away from an umbrella, I designed the Rain Receiver as a wearable backpack so people could experience it hands-free outdoors.

Process

Max/MSP

I use Max/MSP mainly in this project, the initial logic is receiving electric values from the Arduino and then converting these values/numbers into MIDI notes.

Arduino Part

Arduino receives electric values and sends these four numbers to four signal channels in Max. Additionally, these values are sent to the CGI to provide numbers for the printer to print.

MIDI Notes Filter

A MIDI filter receives the numbers and converts them into notes. With a filter, it removes notes that are not in harmony. Only notes within the harmonic range are sent to the MIDI note receiver.

Mapping

These four numbers are also received by a mapping Max plugin. The numbers from the Arduino are mapped to effect functions, such as the feedback, reverb size, and harmonics values.

Rain Archive

Using a CGI page on Raspberry Pi, I connected the printer with the rain receiver. Using a "/" to represent the raindrops that we received and randomly picked words from our Apocalypse. With the first word "fear" came out from the printer, we collected all the raindrops and compiled them into a publication.