Interactions with technology
In the famous film The Matrix (1999) all humankind is enslaved by machines which are able to control their minds. Fortunately today we are not at that point, but still the presence and our interaction with technology in today’s society is phenomenal. As creatives, understanding what technology is available and how to use it in ways that can extend a concept beyond the ordinary, is paramount in creating truly unique and engaging experiences.
The combination of using “Processing” and “Kinect”.
Processing is an open source programming language built for the electronic arts. Processing is a fantastic technology designed to get non-programmers started with programming, through the instant gratification of visual feedback. Kinect is the popular sensor for the gaming console Xbox, capable of recognising the gestures of the users using a full-body 3D motion capture.
The combination of these two tools can create some very surprising and interesting results. We have two examples we would love to share with you.
1) The first is an interactive dance show where the Kinect captures the movements of the dancers, the input is then sent to Processing which elaborates in real time the video output for the projector. In this way the dancer interacts directly with the digital effects. It is a beautiful form of augmented virtual reality which extends the potential of the artist.
2) The second is an interactive installation in a shop window. The Kinect captures the motion of the people who walk in front of the shop window and graphical effects are then projected based on the shape of the people. In this example virtual coloured objects are falling and bouncing with a realistic gravity effect to the rhythm of music. All the complex calculation is done in real-time by the algorithm in the Processing language.
The possibilities are endless when thinking about ways to truly engage with your consumer, especially as an opportunity to surprise and delight.
Written by: Filippo Gelmetti
Published: January 9, 2015