Cathy Wang
Oct 10, 2019
Professor Marcela Godoy
Individual reflection of Group Project
My definition of interaction is inspired by the quote from the article The Art of Interactive Design, “a cyclic process in which two actors alternately listen, think, and speak” (3). I believe interaction must happen among at least two characters. They send and receive a message from each other. But the process doesn’t simply do back and forth. There must be interpretation and transformation during this process. And the input and output should be unique.
Sonic Playground that I find at http://www.creativeapplications.net/ is a simple example of my definition. The instrument-shaped installation created by Yuri Suzuki design in collaboration with High Atlanta, can receive different sounds and transform the sound that you make into unique sound according to your position and the sounds you make. The sound and the position are the input. The software applied to this installation is Rhinoceros 3D / Grasshopper Pipes, which plays the role of the interpreting process. The sound made by the installation is the output. This project aligns with my definition.
While the SUN project created by artist Philip Schütte in collaboration with Random Studio that I find at http://www.creativeapplications.net/ aligns less with my definition. Although it has input, output and transforming process, the transforming process doesn’t really “transform” and “interpret” the input which is the movements of the ball. The sun’s movement is the direct reflection of the ball’s movement. It is like a mirror, but without making conversation with the users.
Our project is called “Paint Your Day”. We get the inspiration from the video Zach Lieberman: Interactive Art http://vimeo.com/9939042. They invent a system that can help a painter doodle with his eyeballs. Then we considered what if we can paint with our other organs or things related to them? Such as sound, voice, etc. As the criteria mentions, it will be used in 2119. We want to create an interactive device which can be normally used at that time. Our project uses the data collected from our body with a wearable device and interprets it into our language, which in our project, is the shape and the color. To be more specific, we focus on brain waves, body temperature, and heartbeat. The algorithm will analyze those input data and classify different mood module which will be represented by color. The sphere of our activities will contribute to the pattern. At the end of a day, the system will present a picture of the whole day. Our daily activity and the change of our emotion paint track our day with the interpretation and transformation of the system. Though wearable devices have already existed now, we believe the wide use of wearable devices in collaboration with complex algorithm still needs many years.
cr. Leah
In conclusion, I believe interaction should include thinking process. It can’t reflect directly like a mirror. In another word, it should include “creation”. Input something, and output something new.
Source used
SUN – Sun’s cycle as an interactive (playful) experience
Sonic Playground – Playful acoustics by Yuri Suzuki Design