Recently apple released a job posting for a User Interface Designer / Prototyper. It was amazing to see that required skills listed were Openframeworks and Processing. Evan a large company like Apple see the need for this new way of creative thinking.

I also noticed that the Magazine featured the Night Lights project. This is a piece I did with yesyesno in New Zealand a few months ago.

Description

The interactive aquarium is installed in store front windows in 6 cities across the US. Using computer vision the seascape will react to the motion of a user, seaweed will sway and fish will scatter. Users can then dial in with any mobile device and create a fish using their voice. As they connect in realtime the sounds they make are analyzed and create a dynamically generated fish. You can then enter that fish into the aquarium and use your key pad to eat various pieces of fish food that will transform and morph your fish into creatures. The application will remember the state of your fish so that when you call back later you can evolve your fish even further.

Technical

The installation was setup in two situations an HD rear projection and a LCD wall. The vision technology was able to track motion and trigger animations. The phone technology was built using megaphone a realtime multiuser mobile phone server.

Credits

Ryan Habbyshaw
Illustrations by Emily Gobeille
Arnold R&D

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Being the Lab that we are this can’t be any old web cam. So Ryan and I grabbed some motors and parts around the lab to built a completely controllable camera. Via the Arduino you can pan and tilt the camera. I used Quicktime Broadcaster which was super easy and free. I had it up and running in about 5 minutes. The only hard part was getting the signal to reach the outside world from inside a corporate network. The next step is to have an interface for the motors and camera for people to control via a web browser. I will post more when we have it online. Get ready for Rock and Roll.

We developed custom software using Openframeworks (openframeworks.cc), an open source development environment for C++. The software is displayed on a HD (1080 x 1920) vertical LCD screen, enclosed in a custom fabricated bamboo frame. The interaction is based on motion and presence. As people stand in front of the display a camera captures the them and the software analyzes the movement in each frame of the video. In realtime the users movement is translated in the a wind force. A physics system is the skeleton for all the elements is the environment. This force and physics system is what animates and brings the environment to life. As the user sways and moves the plants will move with you.

The interaction becomes a tango between you and the plants. To encourage growing we are isolating the upward motion and computing that into plant growth. The more someone moves up the more the plants will grow. The application has two modes day and night, at night the sky fades to a black gradient and stars twinkle in the background. When the sun rises the environment transitions back into a sunny day.

Installation Photos

Application Photos

Video

Credits

Todd Vanderlin
Ryan Habbyshaw
Memo Akten

Description

This installation was done for the 2008 SCMX music festival. You were able to interactive with drifting bubbles that when touched would release smaller bubbles that roll off your contour. Based on amounts of motion you make dust would float upwards and ribbons would burst from your body. The application would export renderings of your interaction for printing.

Technical

The piece was installed under a tent on two HD 52″ LCD displays. The image was a beautiful 1080p and super bright. The application was built in openFrameworks using openCV for computer vision. Using a vector field you were able to paint a motion path for the bubbles to drift across the screen.

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Download a PDF here.

“We make you smile”
The piece allows you to be someone or something else for a moment. As the user walks by the piece finds their face and eyes replacing them with a new image. The reaction is priceless.

Video