I will be interested to revisit these questions when it launches in March.
I am deeply apprehensive in the meantime.
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yeah me too…
I’ll admit whilst technically interesting, Im not really convinced at this stage about its ‘usefulness’ esp to a ‘mass market’ , a niche will always enjoy, as they did leap motion.
at least the price point is not so bad… and its still a way off yet, so hopefully the vision will be a bit clearer by March
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There is a parallel product page for the “create” section:
Videos:
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fyi, so I asked Roli if airwave could be used with other (non roli) keyboards.
but, never say never…
and perhaps the software will be open enough for other devs to use beyond Roli keys.
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I don’t know about mass market, but it could be a great accessory for niche controllers like Monome Grid, or Hexboard, or Organelle…
EDIT:
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Only the ROLI Piano M exists, not the ROLI Piano. That sounds like a leak.
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When it comes to the expressive stuff when paired with a computer, they arent even bothering with Windows at this stage:
“ROLI Airwave used with ROLI music creation software is compatible with macOS only. Only Apple Silicon (Apple M1 or later processor) is supported for macOS”
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lol, lets assume its a typo by their social team… I cannot face another round of speculation 
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The unimpressive expressive functionality shown at this stage means they may as well say “Sick of all that expressivity per finger? Want to waste an entire hands worth of fingers by performing a gesture that affects every note? Then we have the ecosystem for you!”
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Taking a screenshot from one of their other videos and then mirroring it does reveal a little bit more about the computer software in its current form, but the bits that are perhaps most intriguing (such as per finger visuals) are probably just a cruel tease, all about style over substance.
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“Works with up to 2xSeaboard/Piano M” - that gives an idea about the horizontal tracking range, about 56 cm (edit: the full Seaboard is 84 cm - if the non-playing control area is also still tracked…). Would need several and handover detection for an 88 keys piano.
Could become interesting. The current product, being limited to some Roli instruments and the predefined three gestures looks quite niche though.
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So far in the hours that have passed since launch, the concept is doing the opposite of growing on me.
And if I do get curious, all it really makes me want to do is consider mounting a Leap Motion in the same sort of position and arsing around with my own software development.
With that in mind, the only value the Roli would really be adding to this picture for me would be via the presets they are making for this.
And Im still not even sold on the concept since you lose so many finger digits of per-note expression as soon as one or more hands is lifted. If Im being practical rather than fanciful about this, Id rather use my feet and a small array of pedals, so that I still have all 10 fingers available for per note expression at the same time as the global expression.
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I’ve been having similar thoughts. The newer drivers do run on Raspberry Pi, and I’ve been wanting to build a few self-contained utilities, not tied to my computer.
Honestly, my plans for hand tracking were more tied to the Quest 3S at this point, since Meta is finally opening up some limited access to the camera sensors for object tracking.
(I’m torn, then, between wearing the headset for visual feedback, or just mounting it on a mannequin head)
That probably belongs in a different thread, if we want to discuss further. What I wanted to say here is that the Leap Motion approach is more casual.
As is the Airwave, potentially. But I mostly say that to stay vaguely on topic.
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I find that the biggest disappointment. Like, why would they not make it compatible with other midi controllers? I own roli controllers, but it seems like a silly investment, even at the affordable price.
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Well that and the fact that I can’t use it with my iPad.
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As of this moment, while it is averaging the position and orientation of both hands… You should be able to get equivalent signals from Genki Wave, or any equivalent MIDI ring, with no such restrictions in play.
Somi-1 is another strong choice (mounting their sensor to a wristband, let’s say).
Those won’t augment the Roli Learn app, however. If that subscription appears to you. I feel like that synergy is the main reason for anyone to consider this purchase.
(We probably should start a separate “Airwave Alternatives” thread)
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Ooh, I wasn´t aware of Somi-1. I’d be fun to attach those sensors on a dancer for a combined live music/dance performance. Your kind of thing, @keymanpal?
Not sure what I think of the Airwave, though. I own two Seaboard blocks, but their main appeal to me is that they are small and portable. Nice for noodling around on an ipad when travelling, say. So right now I’m thinking adding more gear for them doesn’t make that much sense in my case.
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I have [an earlier version of Somi-1, for Eurorack].(2.4SINK Eurorack Module – Instruments of Things)
The sensors are great, but I would have held out for MIDI if I’d known that was forthcoming.
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This seems to be kind of similar
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The hardware’s come up more than a few times in this thread.
More discussion of the software here:
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