Statement of Purpose, revisited

Statement of Purpose, revisited.

I've been browsing around a lot and looking at sites related to sensors and transducers and microchips and dance and artists and software and music. My general plan may have to be thrown in the trash.

One thing which has caught my attention has to do with user need and possible profit.

In particular, it seems like there are several categories of parts/ hardware companies.

1. small business/ old fashioned/ small to medium scale production/ get the job done cheap/ several simpler tools to be assembled by user.
2. more advanced, more packaging/ parts for many replications/ medium price, but minimum order quantity.
3. specialized/ fancy/ art and commerce specialty items, super expensive.
4. research/ in depth/ academic systems, expensive.
5. lone inventor in some small town/ specialized product, expensive.

I wonder what kind of target markets these different categories of businesses attack.
It seems like the devices aimed at artists who want to use technology in their performances don't really have the money for most of this stuff.

On the other hand, most artists don't have the technical know how to build it themselves. Also, what is the point of using a medium that you don't know intimatley in the creation of artwork? It seems to only take away from the piece in most cases.

For me, this is a critical question. Who is the target market? Who would want to interface with the computer through their sounds and motions in ways aside from the desktop microphone and the keyboard/ mouse?

What need is urgent enough for artists to cough up the dough? What interface is easy and interesting enough for performers to want to spend time learning to use it and incorporate it into their work?

Good questions to consider.