Thanks for Adam Parkinson and Guy Schofield’s technique help, thanks for Brigitta Zics and thanks for Richard Bate helped the exhibition setting up and building made the exhibition successful!

Thanks for all the audiences coming to show their interest and gave their valuable experience and suggestions:

- This makes me thinking of how technology will get involved into human’s life and build the connection in the future, and realize of the psychology can be used widely in our life.

- This could be expended on a whole wall set aside by a path, and when people walking by all of their digital identity will appeared on the wall.

- It is interesting and when I walk out of the door in the morning, I may know my mood of the day.

The following photographies taken on the exhibition night by photographer Liam Taylor, thanks for Liam’s photos recorded the excited night.

Explain Digital Identity to Audiences:

Audience Getting Digital Identity From The Screen:

Colour Detection Demonstration:

More Different Results:

[All Photos By Liam Taylor]

- Colour detection

- Figure outline

- Sound recording

Both of the first two aspects required video analysis, and it used a video camera to capture the image of the environment in front of the screen in this project. With the pure black background colour, it made the image more easily for the computer processing. And later will be mentioned, the face detection also required the image got from video camera.

Colour detection using the [jit.spill], it gave the RGB (red/green/blue) value separately of a specific x/y coordinates. With the idea of the RGB of darker colour has a tendency to 0,0,0 whilst lighter colour has a tendency to 255,255,255, this gave the way to distinguish the colour been detected belong to dark colour or light/bright colour by using the sum calculation.

Below is the patches of the how to input the image from the video camera, and how the RGB value be gotten at a specific coordinates area.

With [cv.jit.canny], it gave a way to deal with the image got from video camera into a sketch mode. And with [cv.jit.faces] as the face detection, it surely gave an efficaciously way to decide when to refresh the screen, to make sure the Digital Identity just belong to the individual. And in this project, when system detect of 0 (none) face, it will send the signal to refresh the screen.

To build the Synesthesia theory, it decided to draw round shape by brighter colour and cube shape by darker colour. The idea is according to the Colour Psychology, curved shape as well as bright colour always gives a feeling of activity and expansion. On the other hand, sharpen shape like triangle or cube as well as darken colour always gives a feeling of tough and gathered.

Then it draw shapes in the [jit.pwindow]. With [jit.xfade], it controlled two windows video and add them together with the transparency setting up.

The frequency aspect in this project can be isolated from others. It required to record a sound and give out the frequency number, and then create a piano note by this number.

• Embodied Interaction
• Embodied Cognition
• The Phenomenology of Perception
• Synesthesia
• Colour Psychology

Varela et al. (1991) raised the concept of Embodied Cognition in two aspects and explained the idea that the human body influences the original human cognition.

“First, the cognition depends upon the kind of experience that comes from having a body with various sensorimotor capacities, and second, that these individual sensorimotor capacities are themselves embedded in a more encompassing biological, psychological, and cultural context.”

- Varela et al. (1991), The Embodied Mind.

Embodied Interaction exhibition is the property of the Digital Identity exhibition.

Dourish emphasized that the most important feature of Embodied Interaction is it reflects on the relationship between people and systems, in another word, it’s a human-machine relationship. He gave the definition of Embodied Interaction as a kind of interaction based on computer systems and occupies the worlds of physical and social reality.

“Embodied interaction is not a technology or a set of rules. It is a perspective on the relationship between people and systems. The questions of how it should be developed, explored and instantiated remain open research problems.”

- Dourish (2004)  Where the Action Is: the Foundations of Embodied Interaction.

During the Digital Identity exhibition, all it required is to get audience involved of this exhibition to build the interaction experience. And this is the embodied interaction. The connection would be bonded between audience and the interface screen by the audience’s perception and feelings. The significant idea is that the interface won’t tell you things but reflect things, as a mirror. For instant, all those graphics and figures on the screen would never be created by no meanings but a way to enlarge individual’s feelings which they might won’t realized.

The Human Machine Circle in Digital Identity

“Synesthesia comes from the Greek ‘syn’ (meaning union) and ‘aisthesis’ (sensation), literally interpreted as a joining of the senses. Synesthesia is an involuntary joining in which the real information from one sense is joined or accompanies a perception in another.”

- Cytowic (2002) Synesthesia: A Union of the Senses.

In a word, Synesthesia is the link set up on the common perception between different senses of human-beings.

Synesthesia works in Digital Identity

Digital Identity is an interactive project by using the Mirror Interface technology as the platform. It is with the intention to create a unique identity by digital information, and meanwhile to build the connection between audiences and digital technology.

In the exhibition, the Digital Identity took from the following three aspects of individual’s characters:

1. Individual’s dressing colour.
2. Individual’s body figure.
3. Individual’s voice frequency.

And then represented and gave feedback to the audiences in three aspects to build the Digital Identity:

1. Similar colourful graphics.
2. Individual’s body outline.
3. Piano tones with the same frequency.

The entire exhibition highlighted the Synethesia theory. It believed that there can always find a common mood or feeling between different patterns. For instants, Digital Identity will capture audience’s dressing colour and put in part of the exhibition. It believed that individuals’ would have some specific mood or feeling when they decided to pick up their clothes among the others clothing early this exhibition day, in a way which they might not realized in time. However, when the clothes represent on the screen with the same colour but different patterns, it won’t tell you anything but recall your that particular mood or feeling. In this way, the connection will be built by the common mood or feeling.

On the other hand, colours and shapes also built connection in this exhibition with the theory of Colour Psychology:

Bright Colour – Curve Shapes – Activity and Expand

Dark Colour - Sharp Shapes – Tough and Gather

For the future Consciousness shapes creation, may make the shape more randomly. Not only the colours of the shape changing randomly, but the shape itself. With that, it is expected to create a consciousness conception by the 3D computer graphic more vivid.

void setup() {
size(800, 800, OPENGL);
//create a cube made by points, use array
pointList = new float [num][num][num][3];
frameRate(30);
pointList[0][0][0][0] = -300;
pointList[0][0][0][1] = -300;
pointList[0][0][0][2] = -800;

for (int i=0; i<num; i++) {
for (int j=0; j<num; j++) {
for (int t=0; t<num; t++) {
pointList[i][j][t][0] = pointList[0][0][0][0] + i * distance;
pointList[i][j][t][1] = pointList[0][0][0][1] + j * distance;
pointList[i][j][t][2] = pointList[0][0][0][2] + t * distance;
}
}
}
}

void draw() {
translate(width/2, height/2, 0);

//translate point of rotation on the z axis
//then we can rotate
translate(0,0,-500);
// rotateX(0.1*PI);
rotateY(cubeRotate);
//then here we translate back to the same point
translate(0,0,500);

background(0);
//make the colours of this cube changed, and control the speed of changing colours
if(frameCount%60==0){
stroke(random(255), random(255), random(255));
}
for (int i=0; i<num; i++) {
for (int j=0; j<num; j++) {
for (int t=0; t<num; t++) {
point(pointList[i][j][t][0], pointList[i][j][t][1], pointList[i][j][t][2]);
}
}
}

//this is a trigger use mousePressed, when press mouse button, points spill out with the explosion effect
if (mousePressed) {
for (int i=0; i<num; i++) {
for (int j=0; j<num; j++) {
for (int t=0; t<num; t++) {
//here instead of adding a speed lerp between this position and the position you want to go to (the centre of the screen for example) write over this position with the new position
pointList[i][j][t][0] = lerp(pointList[i][j][t][0], pointList[i][j][t][0] + i * distance * 10 – 3000, 0.05);
pointList[i][j][t][1] = lerp(pointList[i][j][t][1], pointList[i][j][t][1] + j * distance * 10 – 3000, 0.05);
pointList[i][j][t][2] = lerp(pointList[i][j][t][2], pointList[i][j][t][2] + t * distance * 10 – 3000, 0.05);
}
}
}
}
// release mouse button, cube back to normal, here re-draw the cube
else {
pointList[0][0][0][0] = -300;
pointList[0][0][0][1] = -300;
pointList[0][0][0][2] = -800;
for (int i=0; i<num; i++) {
for (int j=0; j<num; j++) {
for (int t=0; t<num; t++) {
pointList[i][j][t][0] = pointList[0][0][0][0] + i * distance;
pointList[i][j][t][1] = pointList[0][0][0][1] + j * distance;
pointList[i][j][t][2] = pointList[0][0][0][2] + t * distance;
}
}
}
}
//make cube spanning
cubeRotate+=0.01;
}

This spanning sphere use blender to create a 3D model and loaded into processing with the form of *.OBJ. The following sketches are from the blender and processing. The texture effect looks changed a bit from the blender to processing, however the texture showed on blender is the texture effect that I wanted.

from Blender:

from Processing:

The idea is around the theme of “Consciousness” and basically created a “consciousness shaped” 3D computer graphic. The conception of consciousness could be abstract and bodiless. That’s the reason using thousands of points to build up the cube instead of one single solid cube – as points group could be abstract and bodiless. In this case, each point symbolized one’s simple idea or feeling, and thousands coming together built up the consciousness system of individual. Cube spanned and changed colour all the time symbolized consciousness’s form varied. And the action of mouse press symbolized there’s no boundary of consciousness, and a small trigger can lead to the consciousness’s changing.

The sketch of this consciousness cube used array and “for” loop.

THE CONSCIOUSNESS CUBE

by mouse press…

Klaus Obermaier & Ars Electronica Futurelab – Apparition

This exhibition spreads around with the theme rhythm and explains the connection between human movement and luminous performance by using interactive technology.

rAndom international & Philips Electronics’ Lumiblade – You fade to light, OLED Installation 2009

In this one, it consider as “the world’s first OLED media wall”, using next generation OLED technology, create an interface with thousands of OLEDs. On this interactive wall, it captured user’s movement and drew the outline of their figures. When user passing by or even dancing in front of this wall, it will trigger the on/off of the OLEDs. Luminous changed with the movement of user, create a digital rhythm luminous efficiency.

rAndom international & Philips Electronics’ Lumiblade – You fade to light, OLED Installation 2009

Siddharth Mankad, Aashka Shah and Sunil Vallu – Interactive Wall Installation 2009

This is another interactive wall designed by Siddharth Mankad, Aashka Shah and Sunil Vallu. It used a wide angle webcam to track users’ movement and wrote code in Processing 1.0. On this wall the rhythm was represented on “following” and “growing”. Random coloured circles or curves will came up and followed users, and even grew up and spread out like the ivy.

Siddharth Mankad, Aashka Shah and Sunil Vallu – Interactive Wall Installation 2009

Klaus Obermaier & Ars Electronica Futurelab – Apparition

This is an interactive performance combined dance and digital media directed by Klaus Obermaier. The rhythm in this piece reflects on both dancers and the back screen. It sets a connection between dancers’ movement and luminous lines, and can be considered as another dancing performance on the backscreen.

Klaus Obermaier & Ars Electronica Futurelab – Apparition

//the idea basically is using “for” for loops.
//calculate the radius of circle which can make it easier to fit the screen size
//draw both circles left and right at once (same y value)
//change x value and y value, loop 10 times in total

int xPos=25;
int yPos=25;

void setup(){
background(255);
size(500, 500);
fill(255, 0, 0);
stroke(0, 0, 255);
strokeWeight(3);
smooth();
}

void draw(){
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
ellipse(xPos, yPos, 50, 50);
ellipse(500 – xPos, yPos, 50, 50);
xPos += 50;
yPos += 50;
}
}

A1 result

A2.

//draw the lines first with give out the x and y value
//then draw four large squares and draw four little squares last
//basic idea is the last drawing will on the top layer
//notice: fill colour part should write before drawing shapes

int xPos=125;
int yPos=125;

void setup(){
background(0);
size(500, 500);
smooth();
strokeWeight(2);
stroke(230,0,230);
line(0,0,500,500);
line(500,0,0,500);
}

void draw(){
fill(100);
rect(xPos, yPos, 75, 75);
rect(500-xPos-75, yPos, 75, 75);
rect(xPos, 500-yPos-75, 75, 75);
rect(500-xPos-75, 500-yPos-75, 75, 75);

fill(180);
rect(xPos+50, yPos+50, 25, 25);
rect(500-xPos-75, yPos+50, 25, 25);
rect(xPos+50, 500-yPos-75, 25, 25);
rect(500-xPos-75, 500-yPos-75, 25, 25);
}

A2 result

A3.

//in this drawing, it divides into 5 parts
//calculate the relative position between lines and circles
//draw first group of lines, using “for” for loop
//draw first group of circles, using “for” for loop
//draw second group of lines
//draw second group of circles
//draw the quadrilateral by giving the x y value of four angles

int xPos;
int yPos;
int yLine;

void setup(){
background(0, 0, 255);
size(500, 500);
stroke(255, 0, 0);
strokeWeight(1);
smooth();
fill(0, 255, 0);
}

void draw(){
for (int yLine=0; yLine<=100; yLine+=4){
line(0, yLine, width, yLine);
}
for (int xPos=0; xPos<=width; xPos+=50){
ellipse(xPos, 125, 50, 50);
}
for (int yLine=150; yLine<=250; yLine+=4){
line(0, yLine, width, yLine);
}

quad(100, 250+50, width-50, 250, 300, height-100, 50, height-100);

for (int xPos=0; xPos<=width; xPos+=50){
ellipse(xPos, height-50, 50, 50);
}
}

A3 result