Spatial Media : Midterm Concepts

Basic Inputs and Outputs:

A projected grid on a flat surface.
Blocks of basic shapes will be manipulated on the play surface.
The form constructed will dictate the behavior of a kinetic, virtual body or bodies.
The surface and physical objects will be "dumb", with all interpretation and communication of them being from the camera.


Camera:

We will focus on the interpretation of static video images : When differencing is detected, we wait to interpret the scene. Thereby, while a user is manipulating the play area, we wait. When done, we register any physical bodies on the screen and update the resulting behavior.


Objects:

1. We begin with projecting a grid, and allow users to place cubes and other simple geometric shapes (wedges, cylandars) onto the grid. Bodies that fit correctly on the grid will be registered somehow through projection.

2. A shallow plexiglass box is placed on the projection surface. A half inch of sand is poured in, allowing users to create pathways with their fingers.


Virtual bodies:

1. In interface 1, the basic virtual body would be a ball, which would bounce off of the real surfaces. Additionally, multiple bodies could interact with the structure in a swarming behavior.

2. In interface 2, animated ants then begin to populate the resulting ant farm.


Further Steps:

Allow for building up vertically, to create a more complicated structure for a virtual body or bodies to interact with.

Grid and Blocks

Spatial Media design problem #2 : Living Room

In designing a spatial media piece for a living room, I am repurposing an earlier concept of a virtual window for a workspace. The idea is a projected, 3d modeled environment that can register the orientation of the user, and thereby display a window view of a virtual environment. The use would be living spaces that have undesirable window views, or no window views.

Leveraging a library of 3d models like Google Earth could allow users to view a real or imagined window view from any vantage point.

Eyeglass frames that are able to register the distance of the viewer from the projected screen, as well as orientation, would dictate how the projected environment is displayed.

An interface would allow users to select between environments, as well as provide parameters such as time of day and weather (actual or overriden)

Multiple projected windows would increase the immersive aspect.