The AlphaSphere is a MIDI controller designed by the Bristol-based company Nu Desine. The device consists of a spherical shell with 48 pressure-sensitive pads on its surface which can be used to control third-party DAWs through the open source AlphaLive software.[1]
Early versions of the AlphaSphere were shown at the NAMM Show, Musikmesse Frankfurt, three TEDx conferences, and the Future Everything Festival.[2] The device received press from Sound on Sound, BBC, Wired and MusicRadar.[3]
Adam Place (Founder of Nu Desine) produced the initial concept and prototype for the AlphaSphere while studying at Nagoya University of Arts in Japan.[4] In September 2010, Place was commissioned by Media Sandbox (a development funding scheme within iShed, a former subsidiary of Bristol's Watershed) to research smart materials and develop the AlphaSphere.[5] Place formed the company Nu Desine, hiring engineers, designers and software developers to facilitate the production of the AlphaSphere.[6]
In April 2012, Nu Desine began taking pre-orders for a limited edition series of AlphaSpheres.[7] The first batch was shipped in March 2013.[8] Later in 2013, the standard version of the AlphaSphere was made available in music stores in the U.S. and Japan and on the AlphaSphere website in Europe.[9]