Lately, I’ve been on a big ‘Augmented Reality’ app kick. I (and my kids) think there is nothing cooler than an app being integrated into something real world. Recently, we saw ‘SquiggleFish’ and its ability to incorporate children’s drawings into the app via camera technology. We also covered the newest app compatible toy called ‘iHeart Locket’, 
which uses a physical locket to send a signal to the iPad, unlocking and locking a fun diary app. Now, an app called “Tunetrace”, created by the brilliant minds at Queen Mary, University of London, is taking your child’s drawings and turning them into beautiful music.
Tunetrace essentially takes drawings from the real world (anything your child has drawn on real paper) and scans them into the app. Once scanned, Tunetrace converts the drawings based on their line intersections and turns them into audible sounds and music. Incredible!
The brilliant creators of Tunetrace had this to say about why they created the app:
“Using this app you can easily explore the ideas behind computer programming by adding more to the drawing to change the tune. Is it possible to draw recognizable music? Is it possible to make a tune that never ends? We don’t know yet. It’s the people who play with Tunetrace that might make these discoveries for the first time.”
This app, of course, uses the iPad’s camera to take your child’s drawing from paper and put it in the app. While the app is geared toward older children (13-18), there is definitely some value for the younger set as well. It did not take long for my children to get a handle on how the app worked and start manipulating their drawings in an effort to get a particular sound. The best part? It’s 100% free, so there’s no loss if your child is a bit too young to enjoy Tunetrace. In all honesty, there’s a good chance your kids won’t be the only ones playing with it, anyway!
To download Tunetrace, click the Apple iTunes App Store Button below!
