Upon thinking about the two ideas in the previous post (Teacup and Forgetful Machine), I decided to combine them and integrate them with concepts/forms from readings.
Planning
Below is the plan for my midterm project.
Project Name
Forgetful Machine
Project Description
It has been humans who determine what to be remembered by machines with their limited memory. However, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is now possible for machines to learn from our patterns of memory selection, and determine what information to remember on their own. As machines become more human-like, what if they also learn our flaws? How will a machine manage its memory if it is forgetful and vulnerable to time, just like humans and other analog media?
By developing the Forgetful Machine, I want to imagine a scenario in which machines become too human-like to store humans’ memories accurately, and humans need to make extra efforts to retain their memories inside machine memory.
Sketches of Installation
The installation is designed to be a projection mapping cube with only 4 sides, which has one projection on each of its four sides.
The cube has only four sides, and it is hung from the ceiling like a lantern.
Four sides of the cube.
To start the interaction, a person first stands in front of side 1 to see the digital clock showing the current time. The person then walks clockwise/counter-clockwise to see the animations on the other 3 sides. The other three animations are representations of time: a growing plant, a Ru Kiln teacup with growing crack textures, and an hourglass.
Four animations on the cube.
- Digital clock
- Growing plant
- Ru Kiln teacup
- Hourglass
However, when the person leaves the clock on side 1 for too long (for example, 30 seconds), time starts to go backward. This time reversal will propagate to the other 3 animations, and soon the person will find that all the animations are playing reversely. Only after the person standing in front of side 1 again will the clock and other animations play forward again.
Pseudocode
Input:
- 4 video files
- 1 audio file (as BGM)
- Face information from OpenCV
- Current time
Output:
- 4 animations projected on a cube
- Soundtrack
Pseudocode:
get current time
let side1_animation = current time
let side2_animation = plant.mov
let side3_animation = teacup.mov
let side4_animation = hourglass.mov
let speed = 1
start timer
if side1_face_detected {
play side1_animation
}
if side2_face_detected {
play side2_animation(speed)
}
if side3_face_detected {
play side3_animation(speed)
}
if side4_face_detected {
play side4_animation(speed)
}
while (side1_face_detected || side2_face_detected || side3_face_detected || side4_face_detected) {
if (timer >= 30 seconds and side1_face_detected == false) {
side1_animation = reversed time starting from when (timer = 30)
speed = -1
}
if (side1_face_detected == true) {
side1_animation = current time
speed = 1
timer = 0
}
}