The Ravezooka is a musical weapon that shoots powerful “hardcore” sounds based on your target’s distance from the instrument.

Squeezing the trigger handle initiates sound and a beam of light. As the user moves the Ravezooka around, the frequency range being played changes based on the distance of the person or object in front of the instrument. The closer the target, the lower the frequency range. The light emitted from the LED gives a visual clue as to what person or object is being targeted. Sliding the trigger handle back and forth modifies the distortion effect of the sound. The closer the handle is drawn towards the user, the greater the distortion. Volume is controlled by turning the potentiometer knob on the side of the Ravezooka.

The sound of the Ravezooka is generated by MIDI data collected from the sensors and is played through a guitar or bass amplifier from the computer. The sound resembles an analog synthesizer manipulating sine wave frequencies with the aggressiveness of a machine gun.

Inside the Ravezooka.

Developed by Lesley Flanigan and Benedetta Piantella Simeonidis.

Check out the final version of project at the ITP Winter Show, on December 17 and 18, 721 Broadway at Waverly Place 4th Floor South Elevators, New York.

Related works: Troika’s Exploded monologues sends your voice on one or more of the four different speakers, each of them located approximately one meter from your mouth; Tomoaki Yanagisawa’s Sonic Gun allows you to shoot sounds that you have previously recorded with the gun itself and send them to targets that play these sounds back and The Earworm Assault Devices, by Fur, enable you to distribute your own earworms, a piece of music (preferably irritating) that you hear and you can’t forget anymore. Small pieces of sound or music can be recorded onto the devices and fired at single or multiple persons.