Way Forward
Different research and prototyping processes lead the way for thinking about different aspects of the project.
Experience
I have been thinking about how and what I want users to experience when they interact with the project.
What emotions will people experience
Making them comfortable/uncomfortable
Encouraging/discouraging certain specific interactions
Providing direction/enabling behaviour
Reward/punishment for certain behaviours
Take into account different scenarios/relationships between people
Ability to save creation
Embodied aspects to keep in mind:
environment
spatial context
people
what is being tracked
facial expressions
body language
body movement
speech
thoughts
output of screen and how people see it
user experience
Technology
Over the next week, I aim to finish exploring different forms of motion tracking technology and shortlist a couple that are most viable for use in this project.
Microsoft Kinect. I spent half the day trying to get a Kinect to work today, but kept running into some installation and connection problems. Even though initial rounds of research make me skeptical about the relevance of a Kinect in my project, I would like to get it working and analyse myself.
Teachable Machine and ml5.js. Both of these allow training an ML network with relevant data.
Arduino. A PIR sensor with an Arduino has potential for motion detection, and can be easily integrated into javascript.
Leap Motion Sensor. Claims to track sophisticated and detailed hand and finger movements. If it works, it could be helpful if I decide to focus on hand-based gestures.
So far, I have only explored motion tracking. I’m also trying to assess the viability of different modes of tracking:
wearables
light
sound
Output
I started 5-in-5 with exploring different aspects of the kind of visual output the project might have and what kind of influences it might gather. Moving forward, I also want to explore how abstract visual forms can contextualise spatial experiments through visual language, and/or how abstract forms can add or remove completely meaning from contextualised behaviours. I am also looking at the different aesthetics and geometries that 2D vs 3D outputs afford:
2D
fairly simple geometric forms can be turned into complex layers structures
easier for user to orient themselves, especially on the 2D medium
human mind may be able to tolerate more complexity with less effort/confusion as compared to 3D
3D
along with the Z-axis, more aspects of a sketch come into play - materials, textures, lighting
can be more confusing to an unoriented mind
begs the question - do I want people to get lost in the installation or do I want them to ground themselves in it?
