Introducing IOLabs Particles - Touchscreen Physics Simulator for Eurorack

video uploads by IOLabs

A new module from the makers of Flux. IOLabs Particles is currently live on Kickstarter here.

Video Playlist:
IOLabs Particles: Touchscreen Physics Simulator for Eurorack!
IOLabs Particles: Centered Gravity Quantize Demo
IOLabs Particles: Collision Physics Demo

"Live on Kickstarter from Jan 31st 2024!

Our new module offers the possibility to create music using our creative physics engine. Add particles, animated surfaces, portals, black holes and generate gates on collisions, CV output voltages & quantized melodies!

Each particle can have entirely unique physics parameters including acceleration, velocity, mass & gravity! All interact in your simulation to create collisions and XY positional data that can be mapped to generate musically useful gates, voltages & notes. Collisions for some particles may even be switched off so that they move freely around the screen without colliding with other simulation elements.

Multiple quantize zone maps can be used simultaneously to create chords and multiple particles may be mapped to the same output to allow transposition of melodies. CV outputs can be set to send a transposed voltage from another output for easy chord generation.

One particle can control all outputs or all particles (up to 50) can control one output, and anything in between. As with Flux, we have aimed to keep the module as flexible as possible. All simulations can be drawn from scratch using the touchscreen or simulations can also be crafted in fine detail by inputting exact values in the UI.

Multiple external and internal timed resets can be used simultaneously per particle to sync to external equipment or create repetition and complex rhythms as explored in the demo video.

Endless rhythmic and melodic possibilities await!

Please note - the module's hardware itself obeys the real world laws of physics as is in no danger of floating away from your case should you experiment with gravity values. It should however be held in place by mounting screws (just in case)."



via Kickstarter

Particles is a touchscreen creative physics simulator in Eurorack format. Each particle in the simulation can be given unique values for acceleration, velocity, gravity, mass and starting XY position offering a flexible and powerful range of possibilities. Particles can travel through portals, be removed from the simulation by black holes and collide with the environment and each other to generate gates. The particle's XY position can be mapped to the CV outputs to create waveforms or quantized to create melodies. Collisions may also be switched off for any or all particles allowing them to travel freely around the display without colliding with other sim elements.

Simulations can be drawn from scratch with the touchscreen or setup in fine detail by manually inputting positional values in the UI. Surfaces can be animated to create structures that move the particles around the display in a controlled manner, funneling into choke points for dense collisions or directing the particles along a user-drawn path towards specific quantized voltages.

Internal timed resets or external reset inputs can be used to sync the module or to create repetition and rhythm. Alternatively, no resets can be used for free flowing, ongoing compositions that generate musical events based on collisions and current particle locations. Particles offers a vast range of compositional possibilities and a blank canvas to explore using physics to create music!"

Main Features Overview

Add up to 50 particles

Add surfaces, portals, fixed particles & black holes

Animate surfaces

Choose background and simulation colours

Set physics parameters per particle

Each particle can control up to all 12 outputs

Generate gates on collisions

Toggle output states on collisions

Generate CV outputs from particle positions

Quantize CV outputs with up to 8 different quantize note groups per simulation

Preset scales and transposition modes

Micro SD preset storage

Modular presets (load particle groups, sim element groups and quantization zones as separately if desired, loading a full preset is also possible of course)

MIDI support in some form (TBC)

Particles' UI is fully touch controlled. The UI been designed to be intuitive and flexible. In the above 'Initialize Particles' page we can select a particle to edit (50 particles are available at present), then select the initial parameter values that are applied when the simulation is first run and upon any resets.

Particle Mode: Collisions for any particle can be turned off. This means that you can have a complex simulation of colliding particles and also have some particles freely moving without collisions simultaneously. This is useful if you want to dedicate some particles for smooth CV output LFOs, a steady clock or percussion element that is independent from the simulation collisions.

Colour can be selected per particle.

Initial XY position sets the particles starting point. This can be entered here or you can draw the positions on screen from the 'Setup Sim' page.

Initial Accel XY sets the initial acceleration for the particle.

Initial Velocity sets the initial velocity for the particle.

Mass sets the size/weight of the particle.

Gravity can be set per particle and acts upon the Y axis. Some particles may be attracted to the top of the display (negative values) while others are attracted to the bottom of the display (positive values). X gravity will also be added before shipping.

Display Particle No is an option to display a number overlaid on top of the particle in the simulation. This is useful when many parameters are active if you would like to keep track of certain particles.

On Particle Collision generates a trigger when this particle collides with another. This trigger can be used to send a gate to any output or to multiple outputs simultaneously.

On Surface Collision provides the same functionality when a surface and this particle collide.

On Screen Rollover provides the same functionality when a particle wraps around from screen left to right or from screen bottom to top. Screen left, right, top and bottom can be set to block particles or allow particles to pass through.

XY Offset On Reset is an extremely useful tool to create interesting loops. Each time this particle is reset, the starting XY position can be offset by the selected no of pixels. 12 user programmable timed resets are available to use simultaneously and each reset can be switched on or off per particle. Multiple timed resets can be used simultaneously to create interesting rhythms.

Keypad: Any parameter with a large range of possible values can use the Keypad feature to enable you to quickly input a specific value. Each keypad page displays the current parameter title and the possible range of input values. The keypad button will highlight if a parameter has the keypad available.

The All button (like Flux) allows you to set all particles' parameters at once.

The Resets button brings up the resets UI for this particle. You can find additional details on Kickstarter here.